Viva Las Vegas
by CrazyWriters
Summary: With revenge set in The Soprano's minds, can our CSI guys get out alive this time? Sequel to The New Jersey Connection. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Viva Las Vegas**

_**Sequel to: The New Jersey Connection**_

_**Summary: With revenge set in the Soprano's minds, can our CSI guys get out alive this time? **_

_**Pairing(s): Jim/Catherine, Nick/Andrea & Paulie/Nicole  
**_

_**Feedback: Please. It's always welcomed and much appreciated.**_

_**Author's Note: It is recommended that you read The New Jersey Connection first. Otherwise, you'll be completely lost with this story.  
**_

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Over the last eight months things have changed for Nicole. Instead of just moving in with Paulie she decided that she would get her own apartment for a while. But, that just started to change again for her. Her apartment was full of half filled boxes, since she was moving out and getting things moved into Paulie's house.

Since, Tony wanted Christopher, Paulie and her to head out to Las Vegas, she had to make a change of plans. Instead of moving everything on her own, she got a hold of Carmela to see if she could help. Which, Carmela was glad to and found a mover that would do it for her.

Nicole, was just getting out of the shower when a thought hit her. What if she got Uncle Junior to help them by setting them up with a couple of connections down in Las Vegas? She would have to talk to Tony about it, but it just might help make their situation a little better.

She was just in the middle of getting her bra and panties on when she heard the door open. Not knowing who it was she pulled her gun out of her jacket which was laying on the bathroom counter. She turned around and pointed it at the person who just walked up to the bathroom door. "Peter? What the fuck are you doing back here?" Nicole yelled.

"To finish things off!" Peter answered pointing a gun at Nicole.

Nicole was pissed off now. "Like fucking hell you are!" Nicole yelled and instead of shooting her gun she grabbed her coat and threw her towel over Peter's head and shoved him to the ground and took off running.

"Fucking cunt!" Peter yelled, as he ripped off the towel. He fired a couple shots at Nicole as she ran towards the door.

Nicole ducked as two zipped by her head, and the second connected with her right shoulder. She screamed in pain and knew she had no choice but to continue running. She made her way down the hall and towards the stairwell. She bolted down the stairs and to the parkade.

Peter stood at the door swearing.

* * *

Nicole got in her car thanking her lucky stars. She drove to Paulie's hoping he could be home. She pulled up to Paulie's house and got out of the car. The bleeding has slowed down, and was almost clotted. She walked up to Paulie's door and knocked.

Paulie came to the door, "Nic! What happened? Your bleeding." He said as he brought her inside.

"Take a wild guess." She said pissed off taking her jacket off.

"Got hurt taking a shower?" Paulie asked sarcastically.

She turned around, "Yeah the shower shot me."

"Holy fuck, you're not even safe taking a shower." Paulie replied as they went into the living room. "Okay, sit down and I'll have a look at it."

Nicole sighed and then rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, I forgot you had a medical degree. _Dr._ Paulie."

"Well, if you're gonna snipe like a little bitch, you can take care of yourself." Paulie snapped.

"Like a little bitch? Paulie, it was Peter! He's fucking back." Nicole replied.

Paulie stopped for a second and looked at her, "Peter? The fucking cocksucker? How the hell did he know where you lived?"

"How the hell do I know? That fucker shot me again in the same fucking shoulder!"

"Fucking prick. I can't believe he had the balls to come back here." Paulie stated, pacing the the living room.

"You can't believe he had the balls to _come back here_?" Nicole repeated stunned. "I can't believe he had the fucking balls to _shoot me_... again!"

Paulie stopped pacing and stared at Nicole. "Okay, calm down. We gotta figure out what the fuck we're gonna do."

"Well I don't wanna be stuck in the hospital... _again_," Nicole said sitting up, "This time he is fucking mine. All I want, Paulie is this _thing_ bandaged up and I'm going after this fucker."

"You can't just bandage up a bullet hole, sweetheart, we gotta take care of it." Paulie said.

Nicole looked at the bullet hole, "It's not a hole its a good deep scratch. Bandage it, _please_."

"Nic, a scratch does not go through your shoulder and can't be fixed with a band-aid. You need to get stitches."

"Fuck the stitches, Paulie. Just clean me up the best you can so I can take care of Peter."

Paulie sighed and walked in to his bathroom. As he opened the medicine cabinet to get the gauze and ointment he caught his reflection in the mirror and looked at himself for a moment. "She's gonna be the death of me one day." he mumbled and then returned to the living room.

Nicole took a deep breath while Paulie cleaned the wound. "Thanks Paulie." She smiled when he was done. "Sorry, I'm a bitch right now."

"You were just shot, Nic."

"Well, yeah. But still, Peter went to Vegas or where ever and came back, to finish what he started. Which I don't understand." Nicole replied puzzled. She got up and started down the hallway. "Please tell me I left some clothes here."

* * *

Tony, Sil and Christopher were sitting in the back room of the Bing, "Where the fuck are Nic and Paulie?" Tony asked, as he set the cigar down in the ashtray.

Just than, Nicole and Paulie walked into the back room. "T. we got a situation here."

Tony sighed, "Now what?"

"Peter's back. He showed up in my apartment, and tried to kill me... again." Nicole said sitting down.

Tony looked at Nicole, "You okay?"

"Just peachy." Nicole frowned.

"How the fuck did he get into your apartment?" Christopher asked, almost yelling.

Nicole glared at Christopher and then rolled her eyes. "I'm assuming through the door, genius."

"Okay, it doesn't fucking matter how the hell he got in." Tony stated. "The important thing now, is where the fuck is he?"

"How the hell do we know. He disappeared off the fucking planet for eight months, and appears today and shoots me?" Nicole asked.

"Hey, she's got a point there, Ton." Sil replied. "This prick's like fucking Houdini."

"Yeah but also with him disappearing for eight months could work to our advantage. I mean there can't be too many places here that he can hide out anymore." Christopher stated.

"Wait! Nic, he shot you again?" Tony asked, frowning. "You okay?"

Nicole sighed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's nothing that won't heal."

"You should go to the hospital and have it checked out to make sure."

"No, Tony, it's okay. Really. I just want to deal with Peter."

Tony looked around the room at everyone. "Anyone got any ideas on where to start looking?"

"Well I could look in the phone book, a new one just came out. It's a shot in the dark but why not?" Nicole asked getting up to grab the phone book off the shelf.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? He won't be in the fucking phone book." Christopher replied.

"How do you know? Stranger things have happened."

"Alright, be fucking realistic here." Tony snapped. "We gotta cap this fucker before anymore of us get fucking hurt or worse."

Paulie looked at Tony. "We could take a long shot here and go check out his old house."

"No way, I doubt he'd be fucking stupid enough to go back there." Sil replied. "Besides there's probably new people living in it."

"New people living where?" Ralphie asked walking in.

"Peter's house. Where the fuck have you been?" Christopher asked.

Ralphie sat down on the couch, "None of your fucking buisness. Why the hell are you looking for Peter?"

"Because he tried to kill me again, Ralph." Nicole answered, frowning.

"Tried to kill you? You okay?" Ralph asked concerned. Part of him still loved her.

Nicole took off her jacket which she had a tank top on. The bandage was very apparent. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Ralphie shook his head. "I can't believe he came back here. Do you know why?" he asked, looking at Nicole.

Nicole shook her head. "All he said was 'to finish things off'."

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

"I think what it means is he wants to fucking off us, Ralphie." Paulie replied. "You got any idea where he could be hiding out?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, the fucker's your best friend..." Christopher said.

"_Was_ my best friend, Chrissy. _Was._ He's not somebody I consider a friend anymore." Ralphie corrected Christopher but looked at Nicole when he answered.

"Anyway, you gotta know some of his hiding places around here." Paulie said.

"He's been gone eight fucking months and being back now, I doubt he's gonna hide in any of the places I know about."

"Yeah, but it's a place to start." Tony pointed out.

"Where are they, Ralph?" Nicole asked.

"I'll write them down." Ralphie answered and grabbed a pen and paper.

Tony looked at Nicole. The bandage was bloodstained. "Nic, you should get that checked out." He said pointing at the bandage.

"Later, Ton." Nicole answered, as she grabbed the paper. "Holy fuck. Enough places?"

"Yeah, well, the man knows how to hide if he really needs to." Ralphie explained.

"No shit. Considering he vanished for eight fucking months without a trace." Nicole replied sarcastically.

"Split up and start looking." Tony ordered.

"Hey, Ton, you think splitting up's a good idea?" Christopher asked.

"We'll cover more ground that way."

"Yeah, but I don't exactly wanna be alone if I find him."

"You want me to come with you and hold your fucking hand." Tony snapped. "Get going."

* * *

Ralphie and Nicole went looking for Peter at the abandoned cottage in the Pine Barrens. Nicole was driving her pick-up truck and Ralphie was in the passenger's seat. "Nic, what happened between us?" Ralphie asked.

"It just wasn't meant to be, Ralph. Were two totally different people."

* * *

Sil and Paulie went looking for Peter at a run down hotel by the river. "Why are we even bothering. This jerk most likely has new hide outs." Sil complained.

"It's a fucking start. Who knows maybe we'll get lucky and cap the fucker." Paulie replied.

"Why the fuck would he be stupid enough to come back."

"Cause he's a fucking twat."

* * *

Tony and Christopher headed to Peter's old house. Once they got there they noticed that it was boarded up and abandoned. "See, T. I told you he didn't come here."

"Let's check it out." Tony said getting out and headed up to the house. Once they got there they looked into the living room through the window. They noticed that there was not any dust.

"Okay, that's just messed." Christopher added and headed to the back.

Tony followed and as they rounded the corner they saw Peter in a truck pulling away. Peter looked at them and sped up.

"Fuck!" Tony yelled and ran back to the SUV.

* * *

Nicole and Ralphie showed up at the cottage in Pine Barrens. "When was the last time Peter used this fucking dump?" Nicole asked Ralphie as they started to get out of the truck.

"About a year ago." Ralphie answered.

"Great, so what are the odds that he'll be here now?" Nicole asked as she walked up to the front door.

"About a million to one." Ralphie replied as he followed her up the three steps and onto the porch.

Nicole reached for the doorknob and as she turned the handle, there was a loud clicking sound followed a huge explosion that sent Nicole and Ralphie flying through air and landing hard on the ground thirty feet from the cabin.

"Owww..." Nicole said as she rolled over to look for Ralphie, than passed out.

* * *

Two hours later, everyone was sitting at the Bing but Ralphie and Nicole. "Where the hell are they?" Christopher asked, sitting down in a chair.

"They aren't answering their cells." Tony answered hanging up the phone.

"Hey the only place on the list that we didn't check is the fucking Pine Barrens." Sil said looking at the list.

"The Pine Barrens?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, says on the list here that Peter has a cabin out there." Sil replied.

"A cabin? Shit! That's where he could have been all this time." Paulie stated.

"Let's get out there and check it out." Tony ordered.

* * *

Ralphie was just coming to when he noticed the flames all around him. He managed to lift himself up. "Nic? Nic, where are you?" he yelled.

He listened but heard nothing except the crackling of the flames and felt the severe heat on his face.

He stumbled around trying to locate Nicole when he thought he heard footsteps. He whirled around and came face to face with Peter. "What the fuck?"

"I see you found the booby trap, Ralphie." Peter said. He raised his gun and pointed it at Ralphie's face.

"You stupid fuck! You're a dead man, you know that?" Ralphie yelled. "Tony's gonna fucking kill you!"

Peter laughed at Ralphie. "You really don't know me do you, Ralphie? I'm not the scared, whiny little bitch everyone seems to think I am. And I'm not afraid of Tony fucking Soprano."

"Right. If you weren't afraid then why'd you fucking run?"

Peter smiled. "I had to make sure my family was safe. Once I knew they'd be okay, I started making my plans. Of course I didn't think it would take me this long but it doesn't matter because I'm gonna finish this once and for all. You've all hurt enough people and I'm putting an end to it."

"You want to end this by hurting us. Isn't that a little hypocritical there, Pete?"

"Not in the least. You assholes are hurting innocent people. Me, I'm just taking out the trash."

At this point Ralphie made a move toward Peter to try and grab the gun but Peter was too quick for Ralphie and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Ralphie in the forehead and dropped him to the ground.

"One down. Half a dozen to go." Peter said and made his way over to a still unconscious Nicole.

* * *

Paulie pulled the SUV into the Pine Barrens. "Holy shit! Look at all the smoke." Christopher pointed out.

"Fuck, it looks like a fire." Tony added.

"You don't think..." But Paulie didn't have time to finish his sentence before they were all out of the truck and heading toward the blaze.

* * *

Peter picked Nicole up and carried her to his truck. He placed her in the back. He tied her hands, feet and then placed a gag around her mouth.

He then climbed into the truck, started the engine and drove off. Leaving the blaze and a dead Ralphie behind.

* * *

Paulie, Tony, Sil and Christopher made it to the cabin and stopped when they realized what they were looking at.

"Shit! Well, chances are Pete's not fucking here." Sil stated.

"Yeah, well, we better hope that Ralphie and Nicole aren't here either." Tony replied.

They made their way through the flames as carefully as they could, when Christopher tripped.

"Aww, for fuck's sake, Chrissy." Paulie said and then looked down at what Christopher had tripped over. "Oh, shit."

"What is it?" Tony asked.

"It's fucking Ralphie. With a bullet in his head."

"Fuck!" Tony yelled. "Where the fuck is Nicole?"

They searched the area and found no sign of her anywhere. Then they heard sirens. "Shit, someone must have seen the smoke and called 911." Sil said.

"Okay, let's get the fuck out of here." Tony replied.

"T. what about Nic?" Paulie asked, concern apparent in his voice.

Tony placed a hand on Paulie's shoulder. "Don't worry, Paulie, we'll find her."

"She better be okay or Pete's a fucking dead man."

"Paulie, Pete's already a fucking dead man." Tony stated and didn't know how true his words actually were. Considering he had no idea what had gone down eight months ago in Las Vegas.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Tony and the rest got into the SUV. Everyone was worried as to where Nicole got to. Not only that they were all in a state of shock that Ralphie was killed. And they all knew who had done it. It was Peter.

They ripped out of the Pine Barrens on to the highway just in time, before the fire department and police noticed. However they would notice the body of Ralphie, at the scene.

Halfway back to the Bing, Tony's phone rang. He looked down at the call display and it came up Blocked Number, Blocked Name. Frowning he answered it, "Hello?"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Anthony Soprano." Peter's voice rang in.

Tony was pissed. "You fuck!"

"Now, that isn't the way you want to talk to someone who hold's your dear cousin's life in danger. Or should I say your cousin who is more like a sister?"

"Fuck you. Where is she?" Tony yelled.

Christopher who happened to be driving looked back, shocked. Sil who was in the front seat turned around to look at Tony, along with Paulie who was sitting beside Tony.

"Oh she is safe for the time being. But I don't think that would last too long now."

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Mmm, now with her life in my hands it could be a number of things. I think I will have to get back to you on that. However, I will tell you this, her hours are numbered, so are yours and the rest of you, fucks." And than there was a click.

Tony slammed the cell phone shut.

"T." Was all Paulie could get out.

Tony took a couple deep breaths. Which the rest of the team knew it was only a couple seconds before he flipped. "That sick motherfucker has her." He said in a relatively calm voice. Which everyone knew was a warning sign.

"What does he want?" Sil asked.

"He didn't say."

Christopher looked in the mirror, "Than what the fuck did he say?"

"That her hours are numbered, and so are ours. That sick motherfucker!" Tony now was ready to flip.

* * *

Nicole slowly opened her eyes, her head was pounding. She tried to sit up but noticed that her hands were tied and her mouth was gagged.

Peter noticed movement in the back seat, "Well about time you woke up. I've been wanting to have some fun. It just isn't that much fun when your asleep, young Soprano."

Nicole's eyes went big, she tried speaking but nothing came out clear. Why the fuck is Peter doing this? What have they ever done to him?

* * *

At the Bing now, Tony was flipping. He grabbed another poor chair and threw it against the wall. "If he's out to hurt you Tony, why Nicole? Why not your kids or Carm?" Paulie asked.

Tony glared at him. "That FUCK!" He yelled now throwing the deck on its top. "It's her because she's part of the crew, the only fucking female, the one I grew up with!"

"So he's using her to get to you? Why not come to you directly?" Sil asked.

"Because he needs collateral. Less chance I'll fucking kill him if he's holding her."

"That prick better not hurt her, Ton." Paulie said.

"Don't worry, we'll get her back before he ever has the chance. Then we can finally be rid of that fucker."

* * *

Peter pulled the truck into a secluded parking lot and parked. Then he just sat there behind the wheel. He was thinking about Jim. He remembered everything about the day he "committed suicide".

He could still hear Nick yelling to someone to call 911, the paramedics working on him, Jim jumping into the ambulance and holding his hand, Andrea crying.

He didn't want to hurt them this way but it was only way, in his mind, that he could make things right again. He just hoped that once everything came out into the open that Jim and Andrea would forgive him for all the grief and heartache that he had put them through.

Just then he heard a muffled yell come from the backseat. He sighed at got out of the truck. He opened the back door and had to dodge Nicole's feet that came flying toward him. Even though her legs were tied, if she had of connected with his jaw, it would have knocked him out cold.

Once he was able to grab her legs, he pulled her out of the truck and slung her over his shoulder.

He proceeded into the building and dropped Nicole onto a flimsy mattress on the floor. "Now if you promise not to scream I'll remove the gag. Promise?" Peter asked.

Nicole nodded. He removed the gag and she started yelling at him. "You fucker! You're dead!" Peter sighed and replaced the gag over her mouth. "Mmmphmhp." Nicole's muffled voice said.

He removed the gag once more. "What was that?" he asked calmly

"I asked why you're doing this?"

"Because all these wrongs need to be made right."

"What wrongs? The way I look at it, kidnapping is pretty wrong."

Peter smirked at Nicole. "Yeah, well apparently we're both guilty of that, aren't we?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." Nicole replied, playing dumb.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" Peter repeated. "I guess what you did to Catherine slipped you're fucking mind, huh?"

Nicole smirked at Peter. "I should have finished her at the fucking hotel when I had the chance."

"You fucking bitch!" Peter snapped and got down really close to Nicole's face. "This is exactly why I'm doing this. So you and the rest of the so called fucking crew will leave them the fuck alone!"

"After what they did to us! You're fucking insane."

"They were only defending themselves against you. What the fuck did you expect? That they lay down and let you kill them? Not a fucking chance."

"This coming from the guy who shot his own fucking brother."

"Hey, that was a fucking accident! I would never intentionally hurt Jimmy."

"Right. But then they're probably the ones that sent you out here after us. To make sure we couldn't take our revenge on them." Peter looked away from her. "Oh, so I'm right. They did send you out here."

"No!" Peter yelled.

"And not only did you fucking shoot your brother, you shot me twice in the same shoulder, and now kidnapped me. Some how I think your the one that is wrong here." Nicole smirked.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Peter yelled and smacked her across the face.

Nicole frowned, "Now that was just stupid."

"Really?" Peter smirked. He picked up his cell phone and a knife. He dialed Tony's phone again.

* * *

"Yeah," Tony asked picking up the phone, "Decided what you want?"

"Yes, Mr. Soprano, I have." Peter answered. "Put the phone on speaker. I want you all to hear this."

Tony did as Peter wanted. "Alright, it's on speaker."

"Who is all there with you? I mean with the exception of Ralphie, of course." Peter rubbed in.

* * *

"Paulie, Sil and Chissy." Tony answered.

Nicole looked wide-eyed at the cell phone which was on speaker. "Tony! Get me the hell out of this!" Nicole yelled.

Peter looked at Nicole and punched her in the jaw, she yelled in pain.

* * *

Tony wanted to throw something across the room. Paulie just wanted to beat the shit out of Peter. Though Paulie just kept his mouth shut hoping it would do some good.

"Now hear this Soprano crew. I want Christopher, at the docks, in a half hour, or there will be something worse than this." Peter's voice echoed through out the back room, followed by a gut wrenching painful scream from Nicole. Which ended with a click of the cell phone being hung up – Peter hung up on them.

* * *

The gut wrenching painful scream, was caused by Peter ramming the knife he was holding into Nicole's right thigh.

* * *

Tony picked up the main phone on the desk and threw it across the room. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ton, take it easy." Sil commented. He himself was pissed off about what happened. "We will find her."

It was ironic how it ended up being Sil that was trying to keep the crew together and from doing something stupid.

Tony turned at looked right at Christopher. "You gotta get out to the docks."

"Whoa, no fucking way am I going out there." Christopher argued.

"Like fuck you're not! If this is the only fucking way we'll get Nicole back, you'll get your fucking ass out there now!" Tony yelled.

Christopher back away. "Hey, Ton, maybe I should go." Paulie offered.

"No. He wants Christopher out there and that's who's going. We can't afford to piss him off anymore." Tony couldn't believe what he was saying. Usually it was other way around with someone being afraid of him.

Christopher swallowed the lump in throat and looked at Tony. "Alright, T. I'm gone." he said and went out through the door.

"He better not fuck this up. Because if Nicole gets hurt anymore than she already is, I'll cap Chrissy and Peter both." Paulie stated.

"Let's just see how this meeting goes and then we'll decide what to do." Tony said and sat down in the chair behind his desk.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

It had been a week since Catherine had given birth to her and Jim's son, Alexander, and was glad to finally have him home.

She was just coming back into the living room, after putting Alex down for a nap, when the front door opened and Jim came in.

"Hey, Jim. How was work?" Catherine asked and then gave him a kiss.

"Too long. I'm thinking about taking paternity leave."

They made their way into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Really? I didn't think you were considering that."

"I wasn't but the work days are getting too long and I'd rather be here with you and Alex."

"Sounds good to me." Catherine stated and smiled at Jim.

"So any news from the newlyweds?" Jim asked with a smirk.

"Not yet. I just hope they enjoyed their honeymoon in Hawaii."

"I'm sure they did. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, not yet. After taking care of the baby all day I haven't had the time."

"Well, there's another reason for me to be home. To help you out with the little guy. Where is he?" Jim asked standing up from the couch.

"Sleeping. And don't you dare wake him, buster." Catherine scolded him.

"I wasn't going to wake him. I just want to see him, that's all." Jim replied and made his way to the nursery. He looked down into the crib where his son was sleeping. "He's amazing, isn't he?"

"Just like his dad." Catherine replied, walking up behind Jim and placing her arm around his waist.

"You know I was thinking about Peter today. I wish he was here right now. Maybe he would be if I had of read the signs better."

"Jim you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to Peter. Obviously he was scared more than we realized and he took the easy way out."

Jim sighed. "Yeah, well, I should've been able to help him."

Catherine shook her head. She knew she wasn't going to get through to Jim. She had been trying now for eight months to get through to him and nothing worked.

"Come on, let's go eat. We could both use a good meal."

Jim nodded and followed Catherine out of the nursery.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Christopher pulled his SUV up to the end of the docks. He shut his engine off and sat behind the wheel. Waiting to see if he saw any movement.

After a few minutes, he decided to get out of the truck. When he slammed the door he heard a scream.

"Ahhh, you fucking prick."

Christopher recognized Nicole's voice immediately and took of running in the direction he heard it.

He came upon an old building that was boarded up. He pulled out his gun and slowly opened the door. He slowly made his way inside and carefully looked around.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and whirled around and pointed the gun. That's when he noticed Nicole laying on the mattress. He ran over and knelt down beside her.

"Nic, you okay?" he asked and he removed the gag from her mouth.

"Does it look like I'm okay? We gotta get the fuck out of here. Fast!"

"Nic..."

"Chrissy, just do what I fucking say!"

Christopher picked Nicole up and started toward the door that he had just come through. He made it to the doorway and as he stepped outside, there was a huge explosion that sent them flying through the air.

Nicole landed hard on the ground. "Ahhh, fuck!"

Christopher landed just on the other side of Nicole and as she seen him hit the ground she swore that she heard a snap and thought he might of broken his neck.

She maneuvered her way out of the binds that held her hands and feet. She winced in pain as she crawled over to Christopher, "Chrissy..." she said as she checked for a pulse on his Carotid artery. Nothing, however she did not realize that she checked wrong. "Fuck! Chrissy!"

She wanted to cry, her cousin was dead. She bottled up the tears and dug through his pockets for a cell phone. She had to get out of there before Peter came back. She grabbed Christopher's cell phone and keys. She saw his SUV and made a mad dash to the vehicle. Once she got to the vehicle she jumped in and locked the doors. She knew no one was inside. Frantically, she got the key in the ignition. Next thing she knew there was someone banging on the window.

"Get the fuck out of there!" Peter yelled.

Nicole freaked and tried to start the SUV.

Peter pulled out his gun.

The SUV started. She threw it into drive. And slammed on the gas petal.

A gunshot rang out.

The back window shattered, and Nicole screamed.

* * *

Tony started pacing the back room. "T. sit down. You'll hear from Peter." Sil said, watching Tony pace.

Paulie brought Tony a drink. "Here. Sit the fuck down."

Tony's cell phone rang. On the call display it read Christopher. "What the fuck?" Tony asked before he answered the phone. "What?" He asked answering the phone.

"Tony!" Nicole's voice rang through.

"Nicole?" Tony asked shocked. "Where are you?"

"Down at the docks. That fucker killed Chrissy!"

"What?" Tony asked pissed off.

"He killed Christopher! And now he's after me, again!"

"Meet us down at Satriales."

"Okay, Ton. Hurry."

* * *

Nicole pulled up to the back of Satriales. She took a deep breath than noticed a ticking sound. "Not again." She cursed and jumped out of the SVU. She started to run and saw Paulie, Tony and Sil coming up to her. "Get back!" She yelled just as Christopher's SUV blew up. Sending them all flying.

* * *

Peter was sitting across the street, watching the rest of the crew being thrown by the explosion. After the explosion he got out of the truck and lit a smoke, waiting to see if he really finished the job. Part of him was hoping he did and another was hoping not. When he realized that he had knocked them all out he decided to try another thing.

He pulled the truck up to the burning rubble and jumped out. Walking up to Paulie he grabbed him and threw him in the back of the truck. If he couldn't get at Tony through Nicole, than he could use Paulie to get at Nicole, and maybe get another.

Once he got down the street he stopped and bound and gagged Paulie.

* * *

Sil started to sit up, along with Tony. "What the fuck happened?" Sil asked.

Tony looked around, "Nic..." he said getting over to her and helping her up.

"Owwww. The third time this day..." She said shaking her head. "I hate bombs."

Tony smiled knowing she was okay. "What happened?" Sil asked again.

Nicole looked over at Sil. "Truck, bomb, booom."

"Nic, you're fucking bionic." Sil said helping Tony help her up.

Nicole winced at the pain that was shooting though her body. "It may seem that way, but I sure don't feel that way."

When the three of them were standing, Tony looked around. "Where the fuck's Paulie?"

"What?" Nicole asked and looked around frantically. "Paulie!"

"I'll check over there." Sil said and made his way to the other side of the smoldering truck.

"Shit! Tony, where the fuck is he?"

"Take it easy, Nic. I'm sure he's around here somewhere." Tony replied as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Sil walked back over to them with a worried look on his face. "He's not here, Ton."

"Fuck! You don't think..."

"That Peter grabbed him." Nicole said, finishing Tony's thought. "If he could ambush me and Ralphie... oh shit, Ralphie. Where is he?"

Tony glanced at Sil and then back to Nicole. He had a grim look on his face and he shook his head. "He's gone, Nic. Peter shot him in the fucking head."

Tears formed in Nicole's eyes. She may not have been in love with Ralphie anymore but she still considered him a friend and she did care about him. "That fucking cocksucker!" Nicole screamed. "Oh fuck, and now he could have Paulie. Tony we gotta find him."

"We will. And I'm gonna cap Peter myself."

"I don't know, Ton. Peter seems to be one step ahead of us." Sil replied.

Tony looked at Sil. "Maybe. But he's gonna fuck up sooner or later." Tony just hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

* * *

Back at the docks, Christopher slowly rolled over. "Oh, shit!" he cried in pain. He knew that his shoulder was shattered, along with a few ribs and his head was pounding.

He sat up and tried to clear his blurred vision. Once he managed that he looked around. The building was still burning but there was no one in sight.

He painfully pulled himself up on his feet and staggered into the parking lot. He couldn't see Nicole anywhere. "Nic! Nicole!"

No one answered his calls. He reached into his jacket with his good hand for his cell phone. "Fuck! Where the fuck is it?"

He staggered back to where he had landed and looked around but couldn't see his phone anywhere. He decided to get to truck and get some help. He reached into his pants pocket, only to realize that it was empty.

"Shit! What else could go fucking wrong?" he said aloud and looked around for his truck. He didn't see it anywhere. "Great, how the fuck am I gonna get out of here?"

He decided his best option was to walk. No matter how painful that was going to be.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Nicole sat down on the couch in the back room of the Bing. "I am never going to wear a watch again. I hate the sound of ticking. No more fucking booms!" She complained as Tony brought her an ice pack. She looked up at Tony. "We got to fucking catch this fucker." she said to him as his cell phone rang again. "No! No! Let me answer it." She said sitting up. "I want to have a couple words with this motherfucker."

"No!" Tony yelled and answered it. "Hello."

"T. it's me. Peter, blew up the house he had Nic. And I don't know where she is. Sorry T." Christopher said on the other end.

"She's right here, Christopher. She said you were dead." Tony answered shocked.

"What? Let me talk to her!"

"Get your ass back here and than you can talk to her." Tony said and hung up. He looked at Nicole. "You said he was fucking dead!"

"What? T.!"

"Christopher, you said he was fucking dead!"

"T. I checked his pulse. There was none!"

"Fuck you there was none. I just talked to the guy!"

"T. calm down." Sil interrupted. "So, she should never be a goddamn para-fucking-medic."

"Sil, shut the fuck up."

"No, you shut the fuck up, Nic." Tony yelled. "You fucked up."

"Not again..." Nicole mumbled. "Anthony, look at me. Would I have left Chrissy if I thought he was alive. I didn't find a god damn fucking pulse. Think about it T. Think really fucking hard about it." She got up and start to walk to the door. "I gotta find the dead-now-alive-guy."

"You're not going anywhere. Sit the fuck down." Tony ordered and looked at Sil. "You drive around and see if you can find him."

"Alright, T." Sil said and left.

Tony turned back and looked at Nicole. "This was a big fuck up."

"I know, T. I'm sorry. I swear I didn't feel a pulse."

"You should have double checked."

"I know." Nicole sighed.

Tony went to the bar and poured two glasses of scotch. "Here. Drink up."

Nicole took the glass and downed the amber liquid. "Thanks, T."

Tony nodded and sat down behind the desk.

* * *

Sil drove in the direction of the docks hoping he was come upon Christopher. As he turned the corner he saw a figure slumped in front of a phone booth. He pulled the SUV up along side the curb and looked at the person.

He got out of the SUV and walked up to the man. He looked at him closely and saw it was Christopher. He touched his shoulder and Christopher screamed out in pain. "Ahhhhhhhh, fuck!"

Sil let go of Christopher's injured shoulder and moved around to his other side to help him up. "Yo, Chrissy, let's get you some help."

"Sil?" Christopher asked, a little disoriented.

"Yeah, Chrissy, come on." Sil replied and helped Christopher into the SUV.

He took Christopher to Beth Israel Medical Center to have his injuries tended to. Once Christopher was in the capable hands of the doctors, Sil left and went back to the Bing to update Tony.

* * *

Peter was parked on a dark side street. He was sitting behind the wheel and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and waited for the person to answer.

"Yeah?" the voice said.

"I lost the girl." Peter replied.

"You fucking moron!"

"Hey, I got Paulie Walnuts. He's just as good and we'll lure them both. I figure this way, you get two for one."

"Well, it seems I underestimated you. Good work."

"What should I do with him?" Peter asked as he glanced at a still unconscious Paulie in the back seat.

"Bring him to Vegas." the voice said. "I want them on my turf."

"You got it." Peter said, hung up and looked back at Paulie again. "Well, it looks you and me are taking a little trip."

* * *

Nicole sighed, "We can't just fucking sit around here. We have to find Paulie, Ton." She got up and started to pace.

"You should go get a shower and clean up first. Let us deal with the motherfucker." Tony said standing up.

Nicole shook her head, "That can wait. You should know by now that I can't just go home relax and not worry."

Tony smirked at Nicole as Sil walked in through the door. "You find Christopher?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, not far from the docks. He was slumped in front of a pay phone and in really bad shape. I took him to the hospital. They're working on him now."

"Okay, I'll have Carmela go to the hospital and wait for news. In the mean time, we gotta track Peter down."

"Where the fuck do we start? He could be anywhere." Sil stated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Peter had made it to the highway and was heading to Las Vegas. He knew this time around it was only a matter of time before he ran into Jim. The only thing he wanted was to have The Soprano's taken care of before that happened.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Jim was sitting in his recliner in the living room when he heard the front door open. "Yo, Jim, you home?"

"In here, Nicky." Jim called back.

Nick and Andrea walked into the living room and saw Jim rocking the baby. "Aww, that's cute." Andrea gushed at her older brother.

Jim smirked. "Yeah, he was little cranky, but the rocking calmed him down."

"Where's Cath?" Nick asked.

"Taking a shower."

Just then Catherine, followed by her mother Lily, walked in. "Jim, mom just informed me that Sam wants to have dinner with all of us. Nicky and Andy included."

"Sam, huh?" Jim said a little skeptical. Jim would always be suspicious of Sam no matter what he was doing.

Catherine sat on the arm of Jim's recliner. "I know you and Sam aren't the best of friends but maybe we could all at least try to be civil with each other. After all, this little guy has connected us all for life."

Jim looked down at Alex in his arms and smiled. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.

But at that moment, Peter entered his mind again and he frowned. He wished that his brother could be there to share in the miracle but Jim knew that would never happen.

Catherine noticed the change in expression on Jim's face. "Jim, are you okay?"

Jim shook his thoughts away and looked up at Catherine. "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really? Well, that scowl on your face says otherwise." Catherine stated and then she clued in. "You were thinking about Peter again, weren't you?"

"Peter?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, Jim's been thinking about him a lot. And still blaming himself for what happened."

Andrea looked at her brother concerned. "Jimmy, it wasn't your fault. Peter did it to himself."

Jim sighed and nodded. "I know he did but I can't help but I wish that I did more to help him through all the fears he was having over what happened in Jersey."

"We all do, Jimmy. But he's been gone eight months now. It's time to stop feeling guilty."

Jim swallowed a lump in his throat and stood up. "I'm gonna give Alex his bath." he said and left the room.

Catherine watched the man she loved more than anything leave the living room with slumped shoulders and a defeated demeanor. "I've been trying to get through to him ever since Peter died but I just can't penetrate that thick, stubborn skull of his."

"Catherine, let him grieve in his own way. It takes some people longer than others to get over the loss of someone they love." Lily said.

"I understand that, Mom. I'm not telling Jim not to grieve. I just hate that he blames himself for what happened. It was Peter's decision, not Jim's."

"I think Jim can accept Peter's death. I just don't think he can accept that Peter took his own life." Nick rationalized.

"None of us can, Nick." Andrea replied. "I really didn't think Peter had it in him to do something like that."

Catherine sighed and slumped down in the recliner that Jim had vacated. "I just wish I could take away the pain Jim's feeling. I hate to see him like this."

"Of course you do, Cath. You love him." Andrea stated.

Catherine smiled. "Yes I do and I can't wait to marry him." she said and looked in the direction that Jim had gone.

Lily stood up from the couch. "I'm going to make up a bottle. The baby will be hungry soon." she said.

"Thanks, Mom."

"So, you decided not to breast feed?" Andrea asked.

"No way. Breast feeding Lindsey was draining enough. I couldn't imagine having the little bruiser clamped down there." Catherine laughed.

Andrea looked at Nick and laughed at how uncomfortable he was. "Aww, Nick are we making you uncomfortable?"

"Just a little. I think I'm gonna go hang out with Jim." Nick said, stood and left the room.

Catherine looked back at Andrea after Nick was gone. "He'd be a great dad. You two thinking of having any?"

"Well, considering I have two daughters in college, I'm not exactly in my prime anymore."

"Oh and I am. Believe me, if I can have a baby, you and Nick can have one."

"Truthfully, I've been thinking about it. I'd love to have a baby with Nick. I'm just not sure how he feels about the idea."

"Talk to him. It's the only way you'll know."

Andrea nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, no matter what you guys decide, Jim and I will support you."

Andrea smiled. "Thanks, Cath. I appreciate it."

Catherine returned the smile. "Anytime."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Peter was just outside Newark, when he pulled over. He got out the truck and went around to the back. He opened the door, where Paulie's head was located. He had learned his lesson with Nicole and wasn't taking any chances.

Paulie looked up at Peter. "Well, you're finally awake."

"Mmphfghp." Paulie screamed through the gag.

"What's that, Paulie? I can't understand you." Peter smirked.

"Mphmphefgh." Paulie screamed again.

Peter laughed and decided to removed the gag. "Let's try this again."

"You're dead, you motherfucker!" Paulie yelled.

Peter shook his head. "Why do you people keep saying that to me? From what I can see, it's the other way around."

"You cocksucker!"

Peter sighed. "Okay, Paulie, if you can't be civil, I'm putting the gag back on."

"I'll never be civil to you, you fucking prick."

"That's what I thought." Peter put the gag back over Paulie's mouth. "Well, at least this way, the 2000 mile trip will be somewhat quieter." Peter said and slammed the door.

Paulie couldn't believe what he had just heard. Where the hell was Peter taking him? And what the hell was he going to do to get out of it?

* * *

Nicole started to pace, "Why the fuck hasn't that prick called?" she cursed.

"Would you sit the fuck down, Nic. Your making me fucking dizzy." Sil commented.

Tony shook his head. "I'm going home to have a shower. Nic you do the same."

"What?"

"He said go home and take a shower." Sil answered.

Nicole sighed. She got up and followed Tony to the door. "I'll give you a ride." Tony said.

* * *

"I don't want you to call Tony." The voice rang in on the other line. "I want to make the phone call myself. Once you get here give me a call and I will tell you where to take Paulie Gualtieri."

"No problem." Peter answered. "We just left Newark."

* * *

"Tony, you never really told me why I could join your crew." Nicole said leaning back in the passenger seat.

Tony glanced over at her. "You proved yourself, Nic. Even when we were kids."

"Those were games, T. Us trying to be like our parents."

"Yeah, and you did great back then."

"Now?"

"You're still doing good, Nic. Though those last fuck-ups don't help."

"T. I've tried."

Tony glanced over at Nicole. "Yeah, I know you did. That's another reason I let you into the crew. You never give up."

Nicole smiled slightly but she could stop worrying about Paulie. Peter hadn't called them and she was wondering what the hell Peter could be doing to him.

Tony pulled up outside Nicole's apartment and put his SUV in park. "Go upstairs. Take a shower and maybe try to get some sleep. I'll see you back at the Bing later."

Nicole sighed and opened her door. "Yeah, right."

"Nic, don't worry. We'll find Paulie."

"I hope so, T." Nicole said and then made her way inside the building.

Tony watched her disappear into the building and then pulled the truck away from the curb and headed for home.

* * *

Nicole made her way inside her apartment. She was going to plop herself down the couch but decided to just get the shower over with.

She made her way into the bathroom and started the shower. After stripping herself out of her torn and dirty clothes she stepped into the steaming hot water.

She braced her hands against the wall and let the water beat down on the back of her neck. As she was letting the shower massage her muscles, she started thinking about the events of the day.

She couldn't believe that Peter was back in town and carrying out his own revenge. She never thought she see the day. Peter always seemed somewhat wimpy to Nicole but apparently he was good at hiding who he truly was.

She thought about Ralphie and tears formed him her eyes again. She couldn't believe that Peter actually killed him. She wasn't in love with Ralphie anymore but she didn't know how she was going to be able handle not seeing him everyday.

Christopher was another story. How the hell did she fuck that up. She knew she didn't feel a pulse because if she did she wouldn't have left him there. But like Tony had pointed out, she never did double check.

Fuck! She hated screwing up. Especially, now that Paulie, the man she loved more than anything was missing and she didn't even know where to start looking for him.

What the hell does Peter have planned? And who else is involved?

Nicole contemplated all these thoughts as she finished her shower. She turned it off and stepped out on to the bath mat. She grabbed a towel and dried herself. Then she pulled her fluffy house coat on and made her way into the living room.

She slumped down onto the couch. It didn't take long for the days events to take its toll and Nicole fell asleep.

**/Allentown, Pennsylvania/**

Peter stopped at a rest stop to get some food and gas. As the attendant was filling up the truck, Peter went inside the diner to grab a burger and fries for the road.

After he paid he got back in the truck and looked at Paulie in the rearview mirror. "I would have gotten you something but that would require untying you to let you eat and I'm just not willing to take that chance." Peter said and then bit into his burger.

"Mphmhpmh." Paulie yelled.

"You might as well shut up and get comfortable. We still got a long trip ahead of us."

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Tony was just getting out of the shower when his cell phone went off. He answered without looking at the Caller ID. "Yeah?"

"Tony? Christopher's out of surgery." Carmela said on the other end.

"Is gonna be okay?"

"His shoulder was shattered and he has a few broken ribs. Along with a severe concussion. But he'll be okay. After a long recovery of course. What the hell did he get himself into, Tony?"

"That's not important, Carm. Can you sit with him awhile?"

"I was about to head home. The doctor said he's gonna be out for at least 24 hours."

"Yeah, okay. Come home." Tony said and hung up.

He started getting dressed when his phone rang again. "Fuck!" he yelled and answered. "What!"

"Well, Tony, that's no way to answer your phone." the voice said on the other end.

Tony recognized the voice right away. It was Sam Braun. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Just wanted to see how you and your crew were holding up. You know after all the near mishaps. Oh, and the one fatality of course."

"What the fuck? How the fuck do you know..." Tony stopped himself when he realized something. "You rotten fuck! You put Peter up to this shit, didn't you?"

"Let's just say, I'm supporting him in his plans. Good luck, Tony. I have no doubt we'll be seeing each other real soon." Sam stated and hung up.

Tony closed his cell phone and then threw it against the bedroom wall. "Fuck!"

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole was woken up by the ringing of her cell. "Yeah," she asked half asleep.

"Nic, get dressed and meet me outside, now." Tony ordered.

Nicole sat up, "Yeah sure on my way, Ton." She said and than hung up her cell phone.

She walked over to her bedroom and dug through a box that was not fully packed yet. She pulled out a pair of jeans, and a tank top. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her leather jacket and made her way out the door.

She got down to the main doors when Tony showed up with the truck. She jumped in and looked at him. "What's going on?" Nicole asked, with a frown on her face.

He pulled the truck away from the curb and headed to the Bing. "Sam Braun."

Nicole pulled her hair up into a pony tail. "What the fuck does that fucker want?"

"I don't know. He fucking sent Peter."

Nicole took a deep breath. "T. What are we going to do?"

"Go to Vegas, get Paulie back and cap those fuckers."

Nicole smiled. "Best thing I've heard all day."

**/Highway - Between New Jersey & Las Vegas, Nevada/**

"Mphfgmph!" Paulie yelled, trying to get the ropes undone.

Peter pulled the vehicle over. "C'mon now, Paulie. You honestly thing I'm going to untie you? Or that you'll ever see Nicole again? Use that little head of your's instead of using it just to keep your ears apart."

"Mumph, fmgph!"

"Oh just shut the fuck up, if you want to make it to Vegas." Peter said and turned back on to the highway. To drowned out Paulie he turned the radio up.

Paulie tried again to get out the of the ropes. He wondered how Nicole was taking it. He thought back to when he saw her last. Tony, Sil and himself were running to her, as she got out of Christopher's truck. He heard her yell, and than there was a big explosion. He wasn't even sure if they were even alive. Not knowing was killing him. But however, he heard Peter say that she was. But than how could he believe him?

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Sam Braun sat down at his desk. He was trying to get over the fact that his daughter was going to be marrying the one guy in this world that he did not like. The one that tried to bring him down multiple times. The one that could just ruin his daughters life, with just a couple simple mistakes in Sam's eyes. Sam would do anything to help his daughter, even though they just do not see eye to eye.

Sam stood up, he had to get ready for this dinner that he was not looking forward to. He had too much to say and too much to hide. He wished that he could get his daughter to understand where he was coming from when it came to the ordeal in New Jersey. But she just would not listen to him. Maybe this time, after the dinner he could explain it all to her.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Nicole looked over at Tony, since they were just pulling up to the Bing. "T. It's just going to be you and me, right? I mean with Chrissy in the fucking hospital, and Paulie..." She paused, it bugged the hell out of her that Paulie was kidnapped. Did he know she was alive, or dead? She didn't even know if he was still alive or dead.

"You and me. Sil has to stay here and look after the work. Nicky, we're going to find Paulie. He will be okay." Tony said, he stopped the truck and parked it. He turned to her and placed a hand on the non-wounded shoulder. He hardly ever called her 'Nicky'. The last time was so far back neither of them could remember. However, he used to call her that, when she got picked on in school and could not take care of it herself, normally because they were one too many grades ahead of her.

She smiled. "Let's go kick some ass. I want Peter for myself."

Tony looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Kick? Nic, think of your fucked up leg."

She frowned at him. "It's good. I want him for myself T."

"Fine." Tony said and got out of the truck and headed to the Bing.

Nicole jumped out and followed him. She was raring to go and kick Peter's ass. They walked into the Bing and the first person they ran into was Adriana. "Nicole, have you seen Chrissy?" she asked walking up to her.

Tony headed off the the back room leaving her with Adriana. "He's in the hospital Ade."

That statement stalled her. "What? What the fuck happened?"

"Long story. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"Fuck," Adriana, sighed and walked away.

Nicole raised an eyebrow and headed off to the back room.

* * *

Tony just got off the phone when Nicole walked in. "Ticket's are booked. We leave in two hours." He said looking at Nicole.

"Two hours? Fuck can't we leave sooner?" Nicole asked sitting down.

Tony shook his head. "It's the fastest we can fucking leave."

"Okay, I'll go get a few things packed."

**/Highway - Between New Jersey and Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Paulie stopped struggling with the bindings. He just needed to figure out how to get himself out of this and get a hold of Tony. But it seemed that the more he struggled with the bindings, the tighter they got.

Peter just kept on driving, he was happy that he figured out how to fix his mistake. This was actually going to work out better than he had thought. This way he can kill two birds with one stone for his boss. Before he knew it, smoke started to pour out of the front of the truck. "Fuck!" Peter yelled hitting the steering wheel.

He pulled the truck over and cursed. The next thing he knew flames started to engulf the engine and smoke started to fill the cab. He decided screw Paulie and jumped out.

Paulie could smell smoke and started to panic. Now he had to get out and he could not do a thing to do it. He was bounded and gagged. "Mph! Mmmmmmmmph!" was all he could get out.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Tony picked Nicole up and they started towards the airport. Once they got there, Nicole threw her duffel bag over her shoulder and lit a smoke. Tony looked at her. "I thought you quit those." He commented.

"No, stress." She answered as she took a puff and started to walk with him.

"Sure, that's what you fucking said last time."

"T. you smoke cigars. Leave my smoking the fuck out of it."

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Catherine was getting Alex ready to go out. The one thing that she had a hard time getting used to was dressing a baby again. It was a challenge in its self. Alex started to cry and fuss as she got his head through the onesy. And now she had to get his tiny little arms through the sleeves. "Alex, c'mon honey, it's okay. You're fine." Catherine said calmly. Jim started laughing. "Oh fine, be that way. If you're that great than you dress him." Catherine smiled.

Jim walked over and smirked. Once he took over, Alex stopped fussing. "Daddy's touch."

Catherine frowned. "Don't rub it in too much, Jimmy."

Just than there was a voice echoing from the front door. "Knock, knock! You guys ready?" Nick asked.

Catherine decided to leave Jim alone with the baby. She walked towards the front entrance. "Well, once Jimmy gets Alex ready, we will be." She said picking up the diaper bag.

"Great, where's your mom?" Andrea asked.

"With Sam of course." Catherine answered, and looked down the hall to see if Jim was coming.

Jim picked up the car seat and started down the hall. "Ready?" He asked his son as he smiled.

"Whaaaa." Alex answered.

Catherine started to laugh as she heard Alex. "Daddy's touch my ass."

"Daddy's touch?" Nick asked.

Jim just made it to the door. "Don't ask." Jim said as he passed Alex over to Catherine. Who than promptly stopped crying.

Catherine smirked, "Mommy's touch."

* * *

Catherine, Jim, Nick and Andrea sat down. Alex took his spot between his parents. "Why such a nice dinner, Sam?" Catherine asked.

Sam looked at Catherine, "Can I speak to you alone?" He asked, more ordered.

Catherine sighed and stood up. She followed Sam's lead and headed outside the restaurant. "What is it Sam? You asked us to come to dinner, well we're here."

"I want you to promise me that you will never go to Jersey again." Sam said.

Catherine threw her hands up in the air. "Fuck, Sam! Give it up. Stop with the New Jersey bullshit."

"Muggs, please. I can only do so much to protect you."

"Protect me? Protect me, Sam? Where were you when the Soprano's tried to kill us? You're so full of shit, Sam, your eyes are brown." She said than tried to storm away.

Sam grabbed her arm. "Muggs, I did the best I could. It is being taken care of and you don't have to worry about them."

Catherine pulled her arm out of his grip. "Being taken care of?" She asked frowning. "What is that supposed to me?"

Sam shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Just know that myself and others will keep you safe. Now let's go back in." Sam answered and held his arm out for her to grab and escort her back to the table.

**/Highway - Between New Jersey and Las Vegas, Nevada/**

The front of the SUV was now fully engulfed in flames. A passerby in another truck saw the flames and pulled over to the side of the road.

Peter was watching from the wooded area near by and cursed under his breath. "Fuck! What the fuck did that truck stop for?"

A woman, about twenty-eight, jumped out of the truck and grabbed the fire extinguisher that she kept in the back. She started to spray the fire, when she heard banging coming from inside the truck.

"What the fuck?" she cursed and tried to get a good look inside. She couldn't see because of all the smoke.

She opened the back door and heard a muffled cry. "Mmhpgphpphmh!"

"Holy shit!" she yelled as some of the smoke cleared and she caught sight of Paulie tied up in the back seat.

She was about to pull him out when she heard a voice. "Hey, get the fuck away from there." he said.

The woman spun around at the sound of the voice. "Who's there?"

"Get away from the truck." Peter said again but still kept himself in the shadows.

"Are you insane? I'm getting this man out of there." the woman said, and looked at Paulie again.

"I didn't expect anyone to stop." Peter said, walking out further this time but still keeping himself somewhat hidden.

The woman shook her head. "There's a truck on fire on the side of the road and you didn't expect anyone to stop?"

"Mphgmghpgm!" Paulie cried out again.

The woman glanced back at Peter and then grabbed Paulie and pulled him out of the truck. When she dropped him on the ground she looked into one of the faces she never thought she'd see again.

"What the fuck! Paulie Walnuts?" she yelled.

Paulie's eyes went wide when he heard her say his name. How the hell did this woman know him? On the other hand, maybe she was his ticket out of this mess.

As this thought passed through Paulie's mind, the woman slapped him across the face. "You lousy, son of a bitch!"

Peter smirked at the woman. He liked her already. He made his way over to the pair, when he got a good look at her for the first time and almost had a heart attack at the sight. "L-L-L-Lucy?" he stuttered.

Lucy turned around at the sound of her name and looked right into Peter's eyes. She never thought she'd ever see him again. As a matter of fact, she actually thought he was dead. "Oh my God! Peter!" she cried out and threw her arms around his neck. "I thought you were dead!"

Peter wrapped his arms around her. It felt good to hold her again. But old feelings of the anger he felt when she disappeared were still there. "I thought you ran off with someone else."

Lucy pulled back and looked at Peter questioningly. "Why would think that?"

"Lucy, you disappeared five years ago, without a word and I never heard from you again."

Tears came to Lucy's eyes and she looked at Paulie laying on the ground. She walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach. "You stupid fuck! You and Tony ruined my life!" she screamed and kicked Paulie again.

Peter grabbed her and pulled her away from Paulie. "Hey, hey, take it easy. What the hell are you talking about?" Lucy was crying now and sunk down onto the ground. Peter knelt down beside her. "Lucy, what happened? What did they do to you?"

Lucy wiped some of the tears from her eyes and looked up at Peter. "Tony... Tony... he, he..."

Peter sat next to Lucy and put his arms around her. "What did he do, baby?"

When she heard Peter call her baby, she started to cry again. She never thought she'd ever hear him say that to her again and now here he was holding her.

Peter was getting furious with the thought that Tony might have hurt her. "Did he hurt you?"

Lucy nodded and turned her head away from Peter. "It was when I was working at the Bing. I was working in the back room at one of their parties, when Tony pulled me into the closet they have there. He wanted me... wanted me to..." Lucy couldn't finished the sentence.

"It's okay, honey. You don't have to say it." Peter replied. He knew what Tony wanted her do.

"I didn't want to and when I refused he started hitting me. I told him that once you found out what he did, he'd be sorry. Tony just laughed and said that he didn't didn't have to worry about you because they had already taken care of you. I couldn't believe what he was saying. I left Jersey the next day. I couldn't stay there. Not if you were gone."

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been furious with her all these years because he thought she had run off with some other guy. At least that was the story that Tony and Paulie had fed him. And he believed it.

"They told me you ran off with some guy who was a regular at the club and I never questioned it. I just thought you got tired of me and wanted someone new. Someone younger."

Lucy looked at Peter like he was crazy. "I never wanted anyone else, Peter. I thought you were dead. At least that's the way Tony made it seem. And now, I just can't believe you're actually here."

"Ditto." Peter said and pulled Lucy in for a kiss.

Just before their lips touched they heard a car pull up. Peter jumped up and intercepted the man as he got out of his car. "You folks okay?"

"We're fine." Peter said, trying to obscure the man's view so he wouldn't see Paulie tied up on the ground. "Just a little car trouble."

"Maybe I can help."

"No, that's okay. We can handle it. But thank you."

"Sure thing." the man said, got back in his car and drove off.

Peter turned back to Lucy. Then he remembered Paulie on the ground and walked over to him. He grabbed him and pulled up. Leaning him against the smoldering car. "You and Tony are fucking dead! You hear me!"

Lucy placed her hand on Peter's shoulder. "Where were you taking him?"

"Vegas. I got someone there waiting for him."

"Well, you'll never make it there in your truck. Put him in mine and let's hit the road."

"You wanna come to Vegas with me?" Peter asked and smirked.

"Don't get all cocky there, Mr. Brass. I was heading out there anyway."

Peter chuckled and put Paulie in the back of the truck. "Alright, then Lucy. Let's get this show on the road."

Lucy jumped behind the wheel of her truck, as Peter hopped into the passenger's seat. She started the engine and tore off down the highway, leaving Peter's smoldering truck, abandoned on the side of the road.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

The plane had just taken off to Las Vegas, Nevada. Nicole leaned back in the chair next to Tony who had a window seat. She gave a big sigh. She still couldn't believe it. She had no clue whether Paulie was alive, what Sam Braun was up to and why he sent Peter. "T. any reason you can tell me why Sam sent Peter?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe something to do with the girl who came over eight months ago. The one you brought to us."

"Fuck... don't tell me his daughter."

"Yeah, his daughter. Get some sleep, Nic. You need it."

Nicole shook her head. Tony covered her up with his blanket he had with him and made sure that she was as comfortable as she could be on the plane. Tony never understood why Nicole wanted to be part of the crew, but he knew that she was the one that he could count on no matter what. She always had been. She was willing to do what ever it took to be part of the crew and to always be close to were more like brother and sister than cousins.

Tony never understood either why she went out with Ralphie, and never approved of it. But one thing he did approve of with her relationships was the one with Paulie. He knew that Paulie would take care of her, and was good for her. He had always been protective of Nicole, even when he knew he pushed it a little too much and got her temper directed at him. Which was a good thing, but not when it was at him.

He looked over at Nicole and smiled, she was a true Soprano. Her eyes were finally closed and she had fallen asleep.

Tony sat there looking out the window trying to decide where they should look first for Paulie. He knew that Nicole wanted to go after Peter and Tony sure as hell was going to go after Sam. And if they ran into Catherine, Jim, Andrea and Nick. They too would go six feet under. Tony was pissed off.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

After Catherine and Sam came back to the table, Jim noticed a grim look on Catherine's face. When she sat down beside him he leaned over and whispered into her ear. "You okay?"

Catherine shook her head. "No, but we'll talk later, okay? Now is not the time. Let's just get through this dinner."

Sam looked around the table and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Lindsey?" he asked.

"She's away on a school trip to the Grand Canyon this week." Lily replied. "She'll be back next week, in time for the wedding."

Sam still did not like the idea of Catherine marrying Jim but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He nodded and picked up his menu. "Shall we order?"

**/Highway – Between New Jersey and Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Lucy was speeding down the highway at well over 80 mph. Peter looked over at her and couldn't believe she was actually there with him. And what he, well they, had missed out on because of Tony, Paulie and all their bullshit.

Then he pulled out his cell phone and hit number 1 on his speed dial. It took five or six rings before the person answered. "This better be important." the voice said.

"I had a little car trouble." Peter replied.

"What do you mean? You better still be getting your ass to Vegas."

"Don't worry. I ran into an old friend." Peter said and smiled at Lucy. "She's driving us the rest of the way."

"You idiot! I told you not to involve any outsiders." the voice snapped angrily.

"Take it easy. It's okay, really. She's got some scores to settle with The Soprano crew herself. Trust me, we're good."

"We better be. I don't want this fucked up."

"It won't be. I'll call you when we get into Vegas."

"I'll be waiting." the voice said and hung up.

Peter shut his phone and put it back in his pocket. Lucy looked over at Peter curiously. "So, who's this guy you're meeting in Vegas?"

"Just someone with his own score to settle."

"Well, it seems the Soprano's have a lot of enemies. But with they treat people it doesn't shock me."

Peter looked at Lucy and reached out for her hand. "Hey, I'll make Tony pay for what he did to you. I promise."

Lucy smiled at Peter. She had always felt safe with him. "We'll make him pay. I want a piece of that fucker for myself."

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Catherine and Jim were standing outside the restaurant, with Nick and Andrea, waiting for the valet to bring the car around.

Sam and Lily walked out of the restaurant and met them on the sidewalk. "Are you coming with us, Mom?" Catherine asked.

"No, I'm going to stay here with Sam." Lily replied.

'Figures', Catherine thought as their car pulled up. "Okay, I'll see you later."

"I'll be by tomorrow." Lily said and gave Catherine a hug.

Jim had just finished putting Alex into the car and turned back to the group. He looked at Sam. "Thanks for dinner, Sam." Jim said. He promised Catherine he would be civil and he was trying his best.

"Anytime, Jim." Sam replied and turned to Catherine. "Muggs, I'm glad you came."

"Yeah, it was somewhat enjoyable." Catherine replied, gave Sam a small hug and made her way to the car.

Jim opened the door for her. She got into the passenger's seat, as Nick and Andrea climbed into the back with the baby. Jim got in behind the wheel and pulled away.

Sam and Lily watched them leave. "I wish she'd reconsider marrying Jim." Sam said.

"Sam, she's happy. Jim's a good man, no matter what you may think of him, and he loves her. Let it be." Lily replied.

Sam sighed and looked down at her. "Alright. Can I interest you in a drink?"

"Lead the way." Lily smiled.

* * *

Two hours later, Tony and Nicole's plane was landing at McCarran. Nicole was still asleep, which prompted Tony to roust her awake.

He nudged her shoulder. "Hey, Nic. Wake up, we're landing." Nicole stirred but didn't open her eyes. This time Tony grabbed her shoulder and started shaking her. "Nic, wake the fuck up!" Nicole jolted awake and swung her fist at Tony. He dodged it easily, having learned over the years about her reflexes, and grabbed her arm. "Not happening, Nicole."

Nicole opened her eyes and yawned. "What's going on?"

"We're landing. Then we gotta grab our bags and find a hotel to stay in."

"Shit!" she said and yawned again.

"Come on, Nic, I need you fully awake."

"Why so we can go to the hotel and sleep?" Nicole asked sarcastically.

Tony smirked just as the Captain was informing them that they may deplane now.

Tony and Nicole grabbed their carry-ons and made their way to the terminal to grab their other bags. Once they located them, the grabbed a cab and Tony gave the cabbie instructions to take them to the MGM Grand.

**/Highway – Between New Jersey and Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Lucy yawned and Peter looked over at her. "Getting tired, sweetheart?"

Lucy smiled at his endearment. It was like they had never been apart. And although she had been with other men in the last five years, none of which she had ever really gotten close to, she had never forgotten Peter or stopped loving him.

"Yeah, well, I've been driving for six hours now."

"Okay, pull over and I'll take over from here."

Lucy pulled the truck over to the side of the road and got out. She checked on Paulie, who was asleep in the back seat, and then hopped in the passenger's seat.

Peter jumped behind the wheel and started the engine.

"He's asleep." Lucy said.

"Good. He won't be much trouble then."

"Not that he really is anyway." Lucy pointed out. "I mean he is bound and gagged."

Peter chuckled and took off down the highway.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nick and Andrea had gone home once they arrived back at Jim and Catherine's and got their car.

Jim and Catherine had just put Alex down in his crib for the night and made their way to their own bedroom.

As Jim was removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt he looked down at Catherine, who was sitting on the bed. "You want to tell me what happened with you and Sam?"

Catherine sighed and then braced herself. "He asked me to promise not to return to New Jersey." she said and put her hand up when she saw Jim about to say something. "Also, that we didn't have to worry about the Soprano's because they're 'being taken care of'."

Jim sat beside her on the bed with a frown on his face. "What the hell's that supposed to mean? I thought all this Soprano bullshit was behind us."

"So did I. Apparently Sam and others,as he said, are dealing with them."

Jim shook his head. "That's all we need is them coming out here to Vegas. Although I would love to get some sort of justice for Peter."

"Jim, don't go there. We've both been hurt enough. And now with Alex here..." Catherine couldn't finish her thought because it was too reprehensible to think about neither her or Jim being around for Lindsey and Alex.

Jim put his arm around Catherine and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Shhh, honey, it's okay. I promise I won't do anything stupid, okay?"

"You better not. I want you here for a long time to come, Jim."

"Ditto, baby." Jim replied and smiled. "Come on, let's go to bed."

* * *

Nicole sighed, it was easier to get a huge room, with two beds than it was two separate rooms, and also more safe. She walked up to the window. Tony was behind her emptying his bag. For some reason she was never able to really keep her guard up around Tony. "T. I'm worried. Where do we even start looking for Paulie?"

Tony walked up to her, and pulled her into a hug. "We'll find him. I promise you."

Everyone that knew Tony, only really saw a soft side of him for animals. But there was a little soft side for humans, and only a few were allowed to witness that side. Nicole was one of the main exceptions.

She turned around and smiled. "Thanks." She said pulling away and headed out to the balcony for some fresh air.

**/Newark, New Jersey/**

Christopher woke up in the hospital, his whole body was hurting beyond words. How the hell could Nicole even think he was dead? Did she even check for a pulse? How could she leave her own blood? He wanted to talk to her, no he wanted to beat the hell out of her. But he knew that would not happen for a while, since he was here lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV full of saline solution, an electrocardiogram (ECG) to record the heart's electrical activity because he had an abnormal tachycardia episode while in surgery.

Tachycardia is a rapid heart rhythm, an abnormal one can result from improper autonomic control of the heart, blood loss or shock. Which can be deadly.

Along with being hooked up to an IV, and ECG he was hooked up to a machine that measured his Oxygen saturation levels. And it seemed like a nurse was coming in every hour to measure his blood pressure.

"Hey, Nicole said you were in the hospital. What the fuck happened?" Adriana said walking up to his bed.

"Just an accident, don't worry about it." Christopher answered.

She frowned. "Like fuck! Chrissy your in the hospital!"

"Adriana!" Christopher almost yelled. "I said don't fucking worry about it."

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nicole sighed, Tony had gone out to get something to eat for the both of them. She decided to have another shower to try and calm down. She didn't know even if Paulie was alive and that drove her nuts. She knew that Tony was right, that he most likely is alive. And that somehow Sam Braun was behind all this. She knew that she was going to do what ever she could to get Sam. Sam had gone too far. She let the water run down her back, she hated her weaknesses. She took a deep breath to bury her them, her worry for Paulie, the fact that Christopher was in the hospital and that Ralphie was dead.

Once she got out of the shower, she put on a pair of tight jeans, a tank top, her leather jacket, one gun between her jeans and the small of her back, and one in the inside jacket pocket. She looked in the mirror, and put on her makeup. Pulled her hair back into a pony-tail, and her sunglasses on the top of her head. She went and put on her boots and with that a back-up knife, in the pocket of the boot.

She grabbed her cellphone and decided to do a phone call to Uncle Junior with out Tony's consent. She had enough of playing by rules, when someone wanted her cousin, herself, Paulie and the rest of the crew dead. She meant business and was not going to take the crap anymore.

"Yeah, hello?" Uncle Junior's voice rang into her cell.

She smiled. "Uncle Junior, can I ask you something?"

"Sure anything, Kid." Somehow, he always liked her. Even when she joined the crew.

"Who can I go to for help in Vegas?"

"What the fuck are you doing in Vegas?"

"Long story. I just need a couple connections here."

There was silence on the phone for a second. "There is this little place called Letho's down by the MGM. Go there and ask for Logan Grigger. Tell him I sent you."

Nicole smiled and grabbed her key to the hotel room and some cash. "Thanks, Uncle Junior."

"Anytime, Kid." And he hung up.

Nicole looked around the room. She decided that maybe it was best leave a note for Tony.

_"T.,_

_Went out. Taking care of some business._

_Nic"_

* * *

Nicole made her way down to Letho's where Uncle Junior said that she could find this man named Logan Grigger. She decided that she would find out where Sam was hiding herself. She walked into the door and made her way up to the counter of the restaurant. "Excuse me can I see Logan Grigger?" She asked nicely, the first time.

"He's not here." The man said with out even looking up.

Nicole leaned over the counter and grabbed the man by his shirt. "I don't think you fucking heard me. I want to see Logan Grigger right now. Do I look like some fucking cunt that just walked off the street? Take me to him right now or you will have no fucking balls left when I am done with you."

The man was shell shocked. "No... no... um... yes... He's here." the man stuttered.

"Than take me to him." She said throwing him as she released his shirt.

She jumped over the counter and followed the man to the back room. She stood by the door as the man went in and got Logan Grigger.

Logan Grigger came out of the room after the man left. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Uncle Junior said you could help me." Nicole said looking at him.

Logan smiled. "He sent some fucking twat to me, saying I could help them?"

"This fucking twat is part of the Soprano crew. And you will fucking help me."

"What's in it for me?"

Nicole smirked. "You get to keep your fucking balls where they belong instead of in your throat, while you dig your fucking grave. All before I put a fucking bullet in your head."

Logan started laughing.

Nicole lunged at him and threw him against the wall. "It's not a fucking joke," She said as she pulled her knife and pressed it to his groined. "You wanna fucking keep them, you'll help me."

"There are no fucking twats in Tony's crew. So you're a fucking liar." Logan yelled.

Nicole dropped the knife and punched him in the jaw. "You're so fucking lucky that I don't fucking kill you here and now." She said picking him up off the ground. "Now if you don't want me calling Uncle Junior and telling him that I fucking killed you because you didn't help me, than fucking help me."

Logan had picked up the knife when he hit the ground. After she helped him up he went to stab her. She knocked the knife out of his hand. "C'mon are you really that stupid?" She asked, picking up the knife. "All I came here for was for some help."

"How do I really know you're part of the Soprano crew?" He asked rubbing his jaw.

"What more do you want? I told you who sent me here." She answered.

Logan sighed. "Fine. But you're one crazy fucking bitch."

Nicole smiled. "All I want to know, is where can I find Sam Braun?"

"Usually at one of his casinos."

"And those would be?" Nicole asked.

Logan walked into his office, she followed. He grabbed a pen that was on his desk and wrote down the casinos where she could find Sam Braun.

"Tell me, what do you know of this motherfucker?" Nicole asked as he passed her the list.

Logan sighed. Leaning up against his desk he answered. "He's fucking nuts, kinda like you. There is not much I can tell you."

Nicole nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Tony walked into the hotel room, "Nic?" He asked as he started to look around. "Nic? Where the fuck are you?" He asked as he set down dinner on the table. As he did that he saw the note. "Fuck!" He curse just as she walked in the door.

"Dinner?" She smirked.

He looked at her, "What type of fucking business did you take care of?"

She handed him the list. "Every casino that Sam Braun owns and is normally at."

Tony frowned. "How did you get this?"

She laughed, "T. just be happy that I found it. Don't ask."

Tony sighed. "Alright, let's just sit down have dinner and deal with it in the morning."

"T., Paulie could be here. You know I just can't sit around, and wait 'til tomorrow."

"Nic, you will do what I fucking say this time. I don't want you running around fucking Vegas, like a fucking chicken with your head cut off looking for Paulie. Have something to eat and get some fucking sleep."

Nicole threw herself on the bed. "Ton, do you even fucking understand?"

Tony sat down on the bed beside her. "Look, if you go running around out there, there is a good chance that you'll get whacked by Sam. Let's fucking play this safe, and get Paulie back and kill the motherfuckers."

"I'm not going to get fucking whacked T. I'll play it safe, I just want to deal with them now and get Paulie back."

Tony shook his head. There was just no getting through to her, she was just plain stubborn. "Fuck, Nicole! I just fucking asked you to calm down and get some fucking rest. And that's what you'll fucking do!" Tony ended up yelling.

She stood up. "Fuck! Tony!"

**/Highway - Flagstaff, Arizona/**

Lucy and Peter were almost to Vegas by this point. Just three hours until they reached Nevada. And than two hours until they were in Vegas. Lucy had fallen asleep in the passenger's seat. Paulie had just woken up, and was sore beyond belief.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nicole was finally asleep in the second bed at the far end of the hotel room. Tony just finished having a shower and heard a knock at the door. He grabbed his house coat and made his way to the door. Before he rounded the corner to the door, four gunshots ripped through the door.

Nicole shot up out of bed and grabbed her gun. "What the fuck?" She asked making her way to the door, along the wall. A couple minutes passed and she opened the door. No one.

She looked at Tony who was looking at her. "Sam." Nicole said.

Tony got dressed. They both grabbed their stuff and ditched the hotel. The cops were not called due to the fact that a silencer was used on the gun. And the only other thing covering their ass was the fact that Nicole used a bogus name to get the hotel room.

Tony and Nicole made their way to another hotel. Nicole started to think that the only person who knew they were in Vegas that she could not count on was Logan Grigger.

Once they got to the hotel room, Nicole looked at Tony. "I'm going to go out."

"Like fuck you are." Tony answered.

She looked over at Tony. "Trust me. I have something I have to take care of here." She said and made her way out the door.

She knew that Tony was not happy with her and that she would have to deal with him when she got back.

* * *

Nicole made her way back to Letho's. When she entered the door the same man was working the counter. He looked at her and backed right away from the counter and the door leading to the back. Nicole looked at him and smiled.

She made her way through the back door and to Logan's office. She didn't even bother to knock on the door. She just entered. And when she did she walked in on him getting a blow job. She shook her head, "Get the fuck out of here you twat." She said to the woman.

The woman looked at her and glared, but however listened.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Logan yelled at her.

She smirked. "If I were you I'd put your fucking pecker in your fucking pants." She said pointing a gun at him.

"Fuck you!"

"No, thanks. Now answer me this. Who did you fucking tell that I was in town?"

"No one!"

Nicole put the silencer on her gun. "Wrong." She said and shot the chair beside him.

"Sam! Sam Braun."

"You fucking idiot! How fucking stupid are you?"

"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." He said changing his tune.

Nicole shook her head, and decided to just finish him off. She put one between his eyes. She didn't care, she knew that the gun could not be traced, and the guy behind the counter was too scared to say anything to the cops.

Nicole left Letho's and decided to make her way back to the hotel. On her way she decided to call Uncle Junior. She was pissed. "Yeah?" Uncle Junior said answering the phone.

"We got a little problem, Uncle." She said walking down the street.

"What?"

"The contact you gave me was a fucking snitch. He was also working for Sam Braun."

"Fuck! You're joking."

"No. You got someone that is actually fucking trustworthy down in these parts?"

"Let me get back to you." He said and hung up.

She closed her cell phone and continued to walk towards the hotel. She at this point did not really care if she made Tony mad or not. He had to understand what was going through her mind and how she had to find Paulie.

Just before she got to the hotel, her phone rang. "Yeah?" She answered her phone.

"Where the fuck are you?" Tony's voice rang through the phone.

"Just about back to the hotel."

"Hurry up." He said than hung up.

She just shook her head.

* * *

Jim pulled his Charger to a stop outside Letho's and met up with Grissom and Nick outside the door.

"Hey, Jim." Nick said.

"Hey, Nicky." Jim replied. "You guys been inside yet?"

"Grissom has. I just got here."

"What have we got?"

"Male DB, about thirty-five. Single gunshot to the head. I called you both here because I thought you'd want to take a look." Grissom said.

Jim and Nick looked at each other and then followed Grissom into the restaurant. Jim looked at the man behind the counter, who was as white as a ghost and shaking.

They made it to the back room. Jim and Nick looked at the dead body in the chair. "His name's Logan Grigger. He owns the place." Grissom said. "Do the circumstances look familiar?"

Jim had a grim look on his face and took a deep breath. "It looks like a hit." Jim stated.

Nick stared at Grigger's body and felt fear well up in the pit of his stomach. "Jim, you don't think..."

"We can't jump to conclusions, Nick. There's more mobsters out there than just the Sopranos." Jim replied. But he was thinking along the same lines as Nick, when he remembered his conversation with Catherine the night before. If Sam was trying to take out the Sopranos, then chances were they were in town and Logan Grigger was just the beginning.

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**/Flagstaff, Arizona/**

Peter was only four and a half hours from hitting Las Vegas but he desperately needed to stop. He found a local motel and got a room.

Once he was checked it, he woke Lucy up. "Hey, Lucy?" he said, nudging her.

Lucy stirred, yawned and then opened her eyes. "Are we there?"

Peter smiled at her. "No. We're in Flagstaff. I thought we could get a motel room, so we can shower and get something to eat."

Lucy opened the passenger's door and got out to stretch her legs. "Sounds good to me." she said. She stretched her arms over her head, which caused her t-shirt to ride up and expose her midriff.

A small gasp escaped from Peter as he took in the sight of her. She was wearing skin tight blue jeans that seemed to mold themselves to her, a tight black t-shirt and denim jacket. Her dark brown hair was shorter that he remembered but she was still a stunner.

Lucy noticed Peter staring at her and smirked. "Okay, mister, let's pick your tongue up off the ground and get inside."

Peter shook himself out of his stupor and grabbed their bags from the truck. He placed them in the room and then came back for Paulie. "Let's go, Paulie. We can't leave you out here."

They went inside the motel room and Peter sat Paulie down on a chair. The room also had a couch, a television, two lamps on end tables, a telephone, a bathroom and a bedroom that was separate from the 'living room'.

Lucy came out of the bedroom with a bag in her hand. "You mind if I go first?"

"No, go ahead. You get cleaned up and I'll go grab us a pizza."

"Sounds good. What about him?" Lucy asked, pointing to Paulie.

"Don't worry about him. Just go take your shower."

Lucy nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.

Peter looked at Paulie sitting in the chair and then noticed the radiator beside him. He went to his bag and got a set of handcuffs. He pulled his gun out of the shoulder holster he was wearing and walked back to Paulie. "No sudden moves, Paulie, or you won't be making the rest of the trip."

Peter pulled out a pocket knife and cut the bindings on Paulie's wrists and then handcuffed him to radiator. Next, Peter decided to cut the bindings around Paulie's feet. This would prove to be a mistake. As soon as Paulie felt his feet free, he brought up one of his legs up and connected with Peter's jaw.

Peter flew back and landed on his back. "Fuck! You stupid, cocksucker!" Peter yelled. Peter jumped up. He rubbed his jaw and felt blood trickling down from the side of his mouth. He walked over to Paulie and hit him with the butt of his gun, knocking him unconscious. "I should shoot you right now, you fucking prick!"

Peter walked back to his bag and pulled out some duct tape. He walked back over and taped Paulie's legs together. Then he sat down on the couch and rubbed his jaw again. He shouldn't have let his guard down like that. Especially around Paulie. Well, it didn't matter because in a matter of hours they'd be in Vegas and Paulie would no longer be his problem.

Just then the bathroom door opened and Lucy came out wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. She noticed Peter sitting on the couch. "So, where's the pizza?" she asked.

"Had a little trouble." Peter replied and looked up at her.

"What happened?" she asked, when she saw the blood on his mouth and the bruise forming on his jaw.

He pointed to Paulie. "I untied his legs and he fucking cold cocked me."

Lucy looked over at Paulie and noticed the blood running down the side of his head and the gash on his forehead. "Well, it looks like you got even." she said with a smile and walked back to the bathroom.

"Of course. He's not getting away with that bullshit." he replied as Lucy came back with a wet face cloth and sat down beside him.

"Here, let me see." Peter turned his head toward her and winced as she cleaned the blood from his face. "Sorry."

"It's okay." he said, looking into her dark brown eyes. The pain was worth just having her there and touching him.

Lucy slowed her movements and leaned toward Peter. Their lips touched lightly at first and then deepened when Lucy dropped the cloth and they wrapped their arms around each other.

The kiss lasted a moment when Peter realized they weren't alone in the room. He pulled back and looked over at Paulie. There was no movement. Peter took Lucy's hand and guided her toward the bedroom.

They made love for several hours and just enjoyed being back with each other.

As they laid there in each other's arms, Lucy broke the silence that filled the room. "Peter, there's something that I need to tell you. Something I should have told before now."

Peter rolled onto his side, leaned on his elbow and looked down at her. "What it is, Lucy?" he asked, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Lucy took a deep breath. It was now or never. Well, really, never was not even an option. Not when it came to this. She looked up at Peter and wondered how different things might have been if Tony and Paulie hadn't of fucked everything up for them.

"Five years ago, when I left Jersey, after I thought you were..."

"Yeah." Peter interrupted.

"I discovered I was pregnant." she confessed and waited for his reaction.

Peter sat up in bed and shook his head. "Pregnant? You mean we have..."

Lucy put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "No."

"No?" he asked confused. "What do mean _no_? I mean it is my child, isn't it?"

"That's just it, Peter. There is no child. I mean there was a baby at one point and yes you were the father but I miscarried." she explained, tears forming in her eyes. "I couldn't cope with the heartache of thinking I had lost you and I guess all the stress I was under took it's toll on me and I lost our baby. Losing the baby was like losing you all over again and I was devastated because I had lost the one thing that was going to keep me connected to you forever."

Peter didn't know what to say. But this just gave him another reason to hate Tony. It was Tony's fault that he and Lucy had lost each other. And now Peter blamed him for Lucy losing their child.

He turned and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry, baby. You never should've had to go through any of that."

Lucy was openly crying now. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away but..."

Peter stopped her. "Shhh, it's okay, I understand. All that matters is that we found each other again and I'm never letting you go."

"Ditto." Lucy replied and pulled Peter down beside her.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nicole opened the door to the hotel room, when Tony grabbed her. "What the fuck!" she yelled.

He swung her around and slammed her up against the wall. "I fucking told you to stay put but you had to fucking take things into your own fucking hands!"

"Ton, I can't just sit around here with my thumb up my ass..."

"You're gonna have my fucking foot up your ass if you keep going off like a loose fucking cannon!"

Nicole knew Tony would be pissed but she learned along time ago that when Tony threatened her, he was beyond pissed.

"Tony, listen..."

"No, I want you to fucking listen to this." Tony said and pulled her over to the TV.

Paula Francis, a local news anchor in Vegas, was on the screen. _"Tonight, local restaurant owner Logan Grigger was found murdered in his office. Anyone with any information leading to a suspect is to contact the Las Vegas Police Department immediately."_

Nicole stared at the TV. Grigger's murder hit the news fast. She wasn't expecting that. "Is this what you went out to do?" Tony asked. "Are you the suspect they're fucking looking for?" Nicole could only nod. Tony grabbed a chair and threw it across the room. "Fuck!"

This snapped Nicole back to reality. "Tony, I had no choice. He snitched us out to Sam Braun."

"How the fuck did you get this contact in the first fucking place?"

Nicole looked down at the floor. "I... I..."

"You what? Spit it the fuck out!"

"I called Uncle Junior and asked if he had any contacts out here."

"You stupid fucking... You can't rely on fucking Junior. He's lost his fucking mind!"

"I'm sorry, Tony. I had to do something. I was looking at all the options..."

"Junior is not a fucking option! Now or ever! I run this fucking crew, not Junior! I have my own fucking contacts out here and if you had of fucking waited, we wouldn't be in this mess now."

Just then Nicole felt her cell phone vibrate. She discretely looked down at the number. It was Uncle Junior. Nicole didn't want to answer it, not with Tony in the room. "I need to use the bathroom." she said and left the room.

She stepped inside the bathroom, turned the water on in the sink and flipped open her phone. "Uncle Junior?"

"Hey, kid. I got you another contact."

"Is he reliable?"

"Trust me, he's good."

Nicole sighed. She pissed Tony off enough already but she was desperate to find Paulie and nothing was going to stop her. Not even Tony.

"Okay, give me his name."

"His name is Angelo Costa. He's a pit boss at the Luxor."

"Thanks, Uncle Junior."

"Anytime, kid." Junior replied and hung up.

Nicole closed her phone. She prayed that this time Uncle Junior's contact wouldn't go running to Sam Braun.

She flushed the toilet and turned the water off. She opened the door and stepped back into the room.

Tony was standing at the window staring out at the lights. Nicole decided to keep her distance. "T., I'm going out for a walk."

Tony turned around and looked at her. "You're not leaving this fucking room."

"Tony, you can't keep me here like a fucking hostage."

"I can if it'll keep you from pulling anymore fucking reckless stunts. We can't afford to have the cops sniffing around."

"T., my gun is clean. They'll never be able to trace the bullet. And the guy behind the fucking counter is too scared to say anything."

"You better fucking hope so or we're screwed."

"Trust me, T. The cops will never find out it was me. I'll be back in a little while. I just need some fresh air to clear my head." Nicole said, making her way to the door. 'And to have time to talk to Angelo Costa'. She thought to herself.

Before Tony had a chance to respond, she was out the door.

**/Flagstaff, Arizona/**

While Peter showered and shaved, Lucy cleaned and bandaged the cut on Paulie's forehead. "I don't even know why I'm bothering." she said.

"Mmmphmgmf." Paulie said through the gag.

"Sorry, Paulie, I don't speak 'garbled'."

Just as she finished putting the bandage on Paulie's forehead, Peter came out of the bathroom. "Okay, I'm ready to hit the road."

Lucy looked over at Peter. "Okay, let me get changed and we can go."

"Alright. I'll put everything in the truck." Peter said and walked over to Paulie. He uncuffed him from the radiator and was about to use the duct tape to bind his wrists when he decided against it. "Naw, I think the cuffs will suffice." And he cuffed Paulie's hands behind his back. "After all, it's only a four and a half hour trip to Vegas."

Once Paulie was cuffed, Peter picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. Paulie wasn't exactly light and Peter strained under his weight. "Jeez, Paulie, I think you need to drop a few pounds."

Paulie struggled against Peter. "Mpmghtphmghd!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Peter said, getting to truck. He put Paulie down, opened the back door and then pushed Paulie onto the back seat. "Stay put. We'll be leaving in a few."

Peter stepped inside the motel room as Lucy was putting her denim jacket on. "You ready, sweetheart?"

She stepped toward Peter, wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his lips. "Whenever you are."

Peter smirked. "Are we talking about the same thing?"

"I don't know, are we?" she asked, mischievously.

Peter chuckled. "I was talking about hitting the road."

"Hmmm, that was _so_ not what I was talking about." she replied, pulled herself from his arms and walked toward the door. She turned back and looked at Peter who hadn't moved from his spot. "What are you waiting for, Big Guy? Let's go."

Peter smiled and followed her out the door. Just as Lucy was about to get into the truck, Peter stopped her.

"What is it, Pete?" she asked curiously.

He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "I should have said this sooner... I love you, sweetheart."

Lucy smiled and gave Peter a peck on the lips. "I love you, too, Peter."

Peter kissed her again. Once they pulled themselves away from one another, they jumped in the truck and started the four and a half hour trek to Vegas.

**/Las Vegas, Nevada/**

Nicole jumped out of the cab in front of the Luxor and made her way inside. The casino was crowded as she looked around the huge room.

At that moment a waitress walked by and Nicole stopped her. "Hey, do you know where I can find Angelo Costa?"

The waitress looked around and then pointed to a blackjack table. "That's him over there."

"Thanks." Nicole said and headed in the direction that the waitress had just pointed. She walked up to a tall, slender man with slicked back hair and wearing a very expensive Italian silk suit. "Excuse me, Mr. Costa?"

"Yeah, who wants to know."

"I'm Nicole Soprano. Junior said you'd be able to help me."

Costa looked down at Nicole. "Yeah, he said someone would be coming by. Never mentioned you were a broad though."

Nicole rolled her eyes at the chauvinistic remark, even though she had come to expect it from guys like Angelo Costa.

"I need your help locating someone."

"Let's go to my office. Away from prying eyes and ears."

* * *

Jim and Nick were sitting in an interrogation room. Sitting across from them was, Jason Morgan, the man behind the counter at Grigger's restaurant.

"Let's try this again, Mr. Morgan. What did you see right before Logan Grigger was shot?" Jim asked calmly.

Morgan looked down at the table. "I told you, I didn't see anything."

Jim shook his head and stood up from the table. He unbuttoned his jacket and walked around behind Morgan. He placed his hands on Morgan's shoulders and leaned down to talk into his ear. "Now, you see I don't buy that, Jason. You were pretty shaken up. Obviously someone scared you. Who was it?"

"I told you, I didn't see anyone."

"Come on, Jason. You have to walk by the counter to get back to Grigger's office, so obviously you saw someone." Nick stated.

Jim removed his hands from Morgan's shoulders and walked back around to the other side. He sat down and stared across the table at Morgan.

Morgan was getting uncomfortable now and started shifting in his chair. He glanced up at Jim and Nick and then back to the table. "Okay, it was a woman."

Jim and Nick looked at each other surprised. "A woman?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, a real tough bitch. I didn't want to say anything because I don't want her coming after me."

"What does she look like?" Jim asked. Morgan didn't answer. "Come on, Jason, if you don't cooperate I'll arrest you for obstruction."

Morgan sighed. "About 5'7". Nice build. Long brown hair."

"Eye color?" Nick asked.

"Didn't see her eyes. She was wearing sunglasses."

"What kind of clothes was she wearing?" Jim asked.

"Jeans, tank top with a jacket over it and boots."

"Seems you saw more than you thought." Jim stated and stood up. "We'll have an officer drive you home."

Jim and Nick stepped out into the hallway and met Grissom coming out of the observation room. "What kind of woman shoots a man at point blank range?" Grissom asked.

"A very dangerous one." Jim replied. "I'll get the description to a sketch artist."

"It's not much." Nick pointed out.

"Maybe not." Jim replied. "But it's all we've got."

* * *

Nicole was sitting across from Angelo in his expensively furnished office. "So, what is it you need help with?" he asked.

"I need to locate Sam Braun." Nicole replied.

Angelo leaned back in his chair and studied her. "Sam Braun, huh? Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

Nicole shook her head. "What do mean?"

"He's a very powerful man. With a lot of connections here in Vegas."

"I don't give a shit who he is or who he knows!" Nicole yelled, jumping up from her chair. "He's responsible for someone I love being kidnapped and I need to find him. So, if you're not gonna help me..."

"Hey, hey, take it easy. I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I just wanted to make sure you knew who you were dealing with."

Nicole took a deep breath and sat back down. "Yeah, I understand. Now, can you help me?"

Angelo smiled. "I've been waiting for the day to come to put Sam Braun in his place."

Nicole smiled back at him. She definitely found the right man to help her.

* * *

The sketch artist knocked on Jim's door, "Yeah?" Jim asked looking up at her. "What did you get?"

She shook her head, "There wasn't enough information to get a sketch of the woman." She answered.

"Did you talk to him?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, I did. He couldn't give me enough. Sorry."

Jim sighed, "Thanks, Claudette."

She nodded and walked out the door.

Just as Jim looked down there was another knock. He looked up to see Nick, "Nicky?"

"Jim, we've got a problem." He said sitting down. "I talked to Gris, and he said that they can't find enough evidence to point to anyone."

Jim sighed again.

"Jim, I'm worried. Maybe it is..."

"I know what you're thinking, but why would they be here in Vegas?"

"Well, we did piss them off."

Jim shook his head. "Nick, don't jump to conclusions. I highly doubt they're here."

* * *

Nicole walked back into the hotel with the information she needed. Just as she walked in the door Tony was on the phone. She let go of the breath she was holding and sat down on the bed closest to the door. Tony hung up the phone and turned around. "Where the fuck did you go this time?"

"Out for a walk." She answered.

Tony shook his head. "I talked to a contact and I know where we can start to fucking look for Sam. We have to talk to Angelo Costa."

Nicole swallowed. "Uh... T. Don't flip but..."

"You fucking didn't!"

"Yeah, I did. I already talked to him."

Tony too a deep breath to calm down. At least she did something right. "Where can we find, Sam?"

"Well, the best place would be down at the Sahalia."

"Alright, we need a couple hours of sleep, and than we'll head over there. No more fucking running off and dealing with this shit on your own." Tony replied. Walking in front of her, to face her.

"T. I told you why." She said standing up.

Tony shook his head. He was about to tell her something that he normally would not. But he hoped that it would make her understand. "Look. Nic. Your my right hand..._ wo_man. And with Ralphie dead, that makes you a Captain now. And I don't need my right hand woman running around like a fucking chicken with her head cut off. I need you calm and not jumping around. Fucking rational. You will listen to me, and we will get Paulie back and kill these motherfuckers."

Nicole was shocked, she never considered herself Tony's right hand woman, which she knew was very important. She thought she was almost just an add on. Someone to do all the dirty work which she never really minded. And on top of that she was now promoted to Captain.

"T.?" She was kind of shocked.

"You heard me. Now get some sleep."

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Peter was the one driving, he looked down at this cell phone, and decided since he was just pulling into Las Vegas that he would call Sam, whom was the voice. "Yeah?"

"Sam, we just got into Vegas, where do you want the package delivered?" He asked.

"Sahalia."

"Why the fuck there?" Peter asked.

"Because I said so."

"We'll be there in a half hour."

* * *

Jim had just gotten home and was watching Catherine trying to get a burp out of Alex. "We had a hit today. And we know that it's a woman. However, Nick told me that there is no evidence, and Claudette told me there wasn't enough of a description to get a sketch."

"You don't think?" She asked.

Jim shook his head. "Nick is thinking the same thing. I don't want to jump to conclusions on it. But yeah I do."

"Jim, no. No. Why here? Why now?"

"I don't know. May have something to do with Sam. He did tell you that he was taking care of it."

"I know but..."

"Maybe this is his way of taking care of it. Having them come here, and dealing with them on his own turf."

"But Jim, what if they come after us, we can't take that chance. Not with the baby here now." Just than there was a huge burp that came out of Alex and followed by a sigh. She looked at him and realized that she just wore a lot of formula. "Just great." She said picking up a receiving blanket to get the formula off her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you or the kids."

* * *

Tony and Nicole woke up and got ready to head out. It was very rarely that Tony got involved and got his hands dirty but this time it was personal. Plus the only other person that could have got their hands dirty was Sil, and someone had to look after the Bing.

Tony decided to be the one to drive, since he just got the rental with another bogus name. Nicole looked at him, "T. I know saying sorry is a weakness, but I want to let you know I am. I shouldn't have gone off the deep-end like I did but, I'm just so fucking stressed. I want to get Paulie and go back home."

"And we will. Let's just get this done with."

They arrived at Sahalia, and noticed a car and a truck. Nicole looked around, "I think we've got company." Nicole said.

"Yeah," Tony answered and than, they both noticed, Sam, Peter, Paulie and a girl.

"Paulie! He is alive." Nicole smiled, "Who the fuck is that twat?"

Tony looked for a second. "That's fucking Lucy." Tony answered.

"I'm going in." Nicole said and jumped out of the car before Tony could say anything.

Nicole crept along the fence down low enough to get up to the house. She rounded the back and watched them all go in. She sat there near the window trying to figure out how to get Paulie out of it. She looked in the window and decided to take a shot at it. She pointed her gun and took three shots.

* * *

Tony was getting out of the car when he heard the gun shots. His heart pounded. He knew that Paulie and Nicole were down there and who knows who fired those shots. He took off running towards the house, hoping that it was not Nicole and Paulie that got shot.

* * *

Nick sat down at the dinner table of his house, as Andrea placed his dinner plate down in front of him. "You're telling me that you and Jim both think the Soprano's are back in town?"

"There was a hit that Gris, Jim and I were called to. And the guy that saw a woman go in and do the hit. And the description fit that woman that was trying to kill us. The one that Peter shot."

"Nick, there is more than just one crew in America. You know that."

"I just have this feeling."

* * *

As Peter heard the shots ring out, he immediately dove in front of Lucy and knocked her to the floor. As he laid on top her, keeping her covered, he pulled his Sig out of his shoulder holster and started firing back.

* * *

Nicole dove out of the line of fire as Tony was rounding the side of the house. He caught sight of her on the ground and ran over to her.

"Nic? Nic? Are you hit?" he asked.

Nicole coughed from all the dust spewing up around her and looked at Tony. "No. I'm okay."

"What about Paulie?"

"I don't know. He's tied up in there. When I saw him I decided to shoot..."

"You fucking shot first! You could've fucking shot Paulie!" Tony said and made his way to the window.

* * *

Peter lifted himself off of Lucy and checked her out. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." she replied and stood up.

Paulie was now laying on the floor beside the overturned chair that he had been sitting on. Peter walked over to him and checked him out. There was no blood, so he hadn't been hit.

Lucy looked across the room and saw Sam slumped against the wall. He had a bullet hole in his chest and was bleeding badly. She ran over to him and applied pressure to the wound.

Peter saw this and ran over to her. "Fuck!" he yelled and knelt down beside Sam. "Sam? Sam, can you hear me? You're gonna be okay. Just hang in there, okay?"

"Peter, we gotta get him to a hospital. If we don't, he's not gonna have much of a chance."

Peter stood up and looked around the room. What the fuck was he going to do?

* * *

Tony was watching all this through the window. He looked back at Nicole. "Paulie wasn't hit. But Sam was."

Nicole smiled at this. "Finally, something went our way." she said, standing up and wiping the dirt from her jeans. "Now, how the fuck are we going to get Paulie out?"

Tony shook his head. That much he didn't know.

* * *

Peter ran to a storage closet at the end of the hallway and opened the door. As he was rummaging around he heard Lucy's voice calling to him. "Peter, we don't have much time. We gotta go now!"

"Fuck." he mumbled, just as he put his hands on a can of turpentine. "Perfect."

He made his way back out to the room and started pouring the turpentine all over.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"Just bare with me, honey. When I say, we grab Sam and get the hell out of here."

Lucy kept pressure on Sam's wound and tried to help him onto his feet. "Come on, Sam. It'll be okay." she tried to reassure him.

Once Peter was finished, he threw the can on the ground and knelt down beside Paulie. "Looks like our time has come to end, Paulie. I'd say it's been a pleasure but I'd be lying."

"Mphnghdhdp!" Paulie yelled through his gag.

Peter went over to Sam and Lucy and helped her get Sam onto his feet. "Okay, let's get out of here."

* * *

Tony and Nicole looked in the window and saw Peter and Lucy helping Sam to the door. "What the fuck are they doing?" Tony asked.

"It looks like they're trying to get away. We gotta stop them, T."

Just then Tony saw Peter open the front door and then pull something from his pocket.

"What the fuck?"

"What!" Nicole asked.

Tony looked at Nicole and then back through just in time to see Peter strike the match.

* * *

Peter lit the match and as he threw it into the room full of turpentine, the place erupted into flames. "Move! Now!" Peter yelled.

He and Lucy grabbed Sam and dragged him to the truck. Lucy jumped into the back seat with him as Peter jumped behind the wheel, started the engine and tore off down the dirt road.

* * *

Nicole and Tony could feel the heat from the flames as they ran around to the front of the house.

"Shit! T. we gotta get Paulie out of there."

Tony tried to get through the front door but the it was engulfed in flames and making it very difficult for him.

Nicole decided to run back around to the side of the house. She stopped by the window and looked around. She noticed a big rock down by her feet and picked up. She stood back and hurled it through the window.

The glass shattered and she could feel the heat from inside the room. She braced herself and jumped in through the window.

Nicole ran through the flames and got down close to the floor. When she found Paulie, he wasn't moving. She pulled out her pocket knife and cut the tape that was holding his feet together.

The handcuffs would have to wait until she had him safely out of the barbecue pit.

She grabbed his arms and hoisted him up to his feet. With Paulie being unconscious, it was not making her job any easier. Once he was somewhat standing on his feet, she shielded his face and dragged him through the flames and over to the opened window.

Tony was outside and reached for Paulie as she pushed him through. Once he was outside, she jumped out the window and landed on the ground, hacking for air.

* * *

Peter pulled up outside Desert Palm hospital's emergency room and skidded to a stop. He jumped out of the truck and ran inside to get some help.

He came back with an orderly and a stretcher. "We have to hurry!" Peter said. "He's been shot."

Peter opened the back door. He and orderly pulled Sam out and placed him on the stretcher and the orderly took off into the hospital.

Peter closed the back door and hopped back in the driver's seat. He pulled the truck around to the parking lot and parked.

He and Lucy jumped out and ran into the hospital to see if Sam was going to be alright.

* * *

Andrea was walking down the hall with Nick when she saw the orderly rushing toward them. "What's going on, Joey?"

"He was dropped off at the front door, Dr. Stokes. He's got a gunshot wound to the chest."

Andrea looked down at the man on the stretcher. "Oh my God! It's Sam." she said and then looked up at Joey. "Okay, get him into the OR and tell my team to prep him."

"You got it, Doc." Joey said and started off down the hall.

"Hey, who brought him in?" Nick called out.

"Some guy and a woman." Joey called back. "I don't know where they got to."

"Knowing what Sam can get himself into it was probably just a dump."

"Nick..."

"You go. I'll call Catherine."

Andrea kissed him and took off down the hall.

* * *

Nicole and Tony had put Paulie in the back seat of the rental car and were driving back to their hotel.

Nicole was sitting the back beside and made eye contact with Tony in the rear view mirror. "I'm glad he's okay, T."

"Paulie's tough. But will admit there was a time I thought..."

"I know, Tony. Me too." Nicole said and looked back at Paulie. She leaned down and whispered into his ear. "You're safe now, baby."

* * *

Catherine was making up a bottle for Alex when she heard her cell phone go off. "Willows." she answered.

"Not for long." Jim whispered as he snuck up behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She turned her head and smiled back at Jim when she heard Nick's voice ring out on the other end of the phone. "Cath?"

"Yeah, Nicky, what's up?"

"I'm at the hospital."

"Oh, can't seem to stay away from Andy, huh?" she said with a little chuckle.

"No, Catherine. Sam's been shot."

"W-w-what?"

This caused Jim to become alarmed. "What is it, honey?" Jim asked as Lily walked into the kitchen.

Tears formed in Catherine's eyes. "Sam's been shot." Catherine replied and dropped the phone.

"Oh no." Lily gasped.

Both Jim and Catherine turned when they heard Lily. Catherine looked at her mother and the tears fell from her eyes. "Oh, mom." she cried as she put her arms around Lily.

Jim heard Nick calling from the phone on the floor and picked it up. "Nick? What the hell happened?"

"I don't know much, Jim. He was dropped off at emergency and Andrea's working on him now."

"Who brought him in?"

"An orderly said some guy and a woman. I'll look around. See if I can find them."

"Okay, Nick. Keep me up to date."

Catherine pulled herself from her mother's arms and looked at Jim. "Tell, Nick I'm coming to the hospital."

"I'm going too." Lily said through tears of her own.

"Nick, Catherine and Lily are coming down there."

"Okay, Jim, I'll be waiting for them."

"Thanks, Nick. I'll talk to you soon."

"You got it."

Jim closed Catherine's cell phone and put his hand on her cheek. "You and Lily go, honey. I'll stay here with the baby, okay?"

Catherine nodded and grabbed her car keys. "I'll call you later."

"Okay." Jim said as he watched Catherine and Lily run out the door.

* * *

As Nick hung up from Jim, he decided to make his way downstairs to wait for Catherine and Lily. Finding the mystery couple that dropped Sam off would have to wait.

* * *

Peter and Lucy were walking from the opposite direction and made it to the nurse's station as Nick round the corner.

They walked up to the nurse behind the desk and she looked up at them. "Can I help you?"

"The gunshot victim that was just brought in, I need to know how he is." Peter said.

"He's in surgery right now." the nurse replied and noticed the grim looks on Peter and Lucy's faces. "Don't worry, Dr. Stokes is operating. He's in good hands."

"Stokes?" Lucy asked confused.

"Yes, that's right. She's the chief surgeon and the best doctor we have."

Peter nodded slowly, a little confused himself, and he Lucy walked down to the waiting room.

As they sat down in the chairs, Peter looked over at Lucy. "Do you know her?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No. Why would you think...?"

"Well, your last name is Stokes..." Peter said and stopped himself as he clued in. Shit! Why hadn't he thought of that before? Nick. His last name was Stokes. Could he possibly be related to Lucy? And why didn't he think of her when he met Nick last year? "Lucy, do you have any brothers?"

Lucy was taken aback by the question. Why was Peter asking her that now? "Two older, why? I also have four older sisters. I'm the youngest. What does that..." Lucy stopped for a second. "I'm not related to the doctor, Peter."

"I wasn't thinking about the doctor. Do you have a brother that lives here in Vegas?"

Lucy nodded. "That was the reason I was coming out here. I haven't seen Nick in a long time."

There it was. Lucy had just confirmed what Peter suspected. "Nick's your brother?"

"You know him?" Lucy asked surprised.

Peter sighed. "Yeah, we met last year. Back in Jersey. That's how this whole mess started." Peter said as he noticed Nick, Catherine and another lady rushing by the waiting room. He wasn't surprised to see Catherine there. He knew she was Sam's daughter. "Time to face the music."

"What?" Lucy asked.

Peter shook his head. "Long story. But you'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Nicole and Tony helped a still unconscious Paulie into the hotel room. They place him on Nicole's bed and she went to her bag.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"Getting my lock picks. I need to get those cuffs off of him."

Tony shook his head. Was there anything she couldn't do? "Good luck. I'm going down to the bar to get a drink."

Nicole nodded and walked over to Paulie with the lock picks. Tony left and Nicole went to work on the locks.

It didn't take her long to have Paulie's hands free. Once that was done, she decided to get a shower and clean herself up.

A half hour later Paulie was just starting to stir. He opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Peter lighting a match and the farmhouse going up in flames.

He looked around the room. It was definitely not on fire and then he realized his legs and arms were free. "Am I dead?" Paulie groaned as the bathroom door opened.

"No and you're not in hell either." Nicole said walking over to the bed.

"Nic?" Paulie asked confused.

"I'm here, Paulie. And you're okay."

"Where are we? How did you find me?"

She sat down on the bed and stroked his damp hair back. "We're in Vegas at the Palms. Don't worry about how we found you. The important thing is, is that we did."

"I didn't know if you were alive or dead." Paulie confessed. "Pete never confirmed it either way."

"Don't worry, honey. Peter's gonna get what's coming to him. Sam Braun already has."

"Sam Braun?"

"Yeah, he was behind this whole mess. But he won't be a problem anymore." Nicole smiled.

Paulie smiled back her. He knew exactly what she was saying. "You're something else, sweetheart."

"Did you ever doubt me, Paulie?"

"Never, baby, never." he said and pulled her down for a kiss.

Nicole pulled back for a minute. "Paulie, are you sure you're not too sore? I mean you've been tied up for at least three days now."

"Nic, I've finally back with you. A little soreness isn't gonna stop me."

Nicole smiled and kissed Paulie. He deepened it and pulled her on top of him. "I need you now, sweetheart."

"I'm yours, Paulie. Now and forever." Nicole replied.

They made love and were curled up in each others arms when Tony made it back to the room. He was slightly buzzed from all the scotch he consumed and passed out as soon as he hit the bed.

* * *

Nick, Catherine and Lily were waiting on news about Sam when Andrea came out of the OR.

Catherine rushed over to. "Is he okay, Andy?"

Andrea shook her head. "I'm sorry, Catherine. I did everything I could but by the time he got here, he had already lost too much blood. There's was nothing I could do."

Tears were falling from Catherine's eyes when she heard a sob escape from Lily. She turned around and caught her mother, just as she fainted.

Andrea and Nick rushed over to help her. "Let's get her into a room."

Nick picked Lily up and followed Andrea down the hall. Just as they left, Catherine started to cry and fell to her knees.

Peter and Lucy were making their way back to the nurses station when he saw her. She looked racked with grief and Peter knew he couldn't just leave her there alone. But he couldn't just walk up to her either.

Catherine heard footsteps approaching her and looked up. She stared at the man in front of her with a mixture of terror, anger and hate. "Peter!" she screamed.

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Catherine... I'm so sorry." Peter said and went to help her up.

She stood up on her own. "Peter... How... but..." The words just would not come out. She took a deep breath. "I thought you were dead. How could you put your family through all of that." She scowled.

"Catherine... Let me explain." Peter went to say when Nick walked up to them.

"Peter? Is that really you?" Nick asked shocked. "All this time..."

Lucy saw Nick and walked up, "Nicky!"

"Lucy? What are you doing here... where have you been?" Nick asked, still shocked.

Catherine barged in, "Peter, what the hell happened?" She demanded.

"I'll explain. Believe me I will." Peter said. "Right now, I need to know how Sam is."

Fresh tears formed in Catherine's eyes. "He's gone, Peter!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry, Catherine." Peter replied and stepped closer to put his arm around her.

"Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me!"

Peter backed off as Andrea walked toward the group. "What hell is going..." Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Peter standing there and almost fainted. Nick grabbed her waist to keep her steady. "Peter? No, it can't be. You're..."

Peter felt a lump form in his throat as he saw the look of anguish on his sister's face. "I can explain, Andy. Just let me do that much." he said and glanced at Catherine.

"Somehow I can't see any explanation being plausible enough for what you put everyone through." Catherine snapped. She was beyond pissed.

"I know. But it seemed like the right choice at the time."

"What's going on, Peter?" Lucy asked, confused and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder.

Nick noticed the gesture. He glared at Peter but spoke to Lucy. "How the hell do you two know each other?" Nick asked.

"Long story, Nicky." Lucy said. "And not a nice one."

"Why am I not surprised? If it involves Peter..."

"No, Nicky. What happened was not Peter's fault and I don't want you thinking otherwise."

Nick was taken aback and Lucy's quick defense of Peter. He was going to get to the bottom of how his sister knew Peter but first they had to find out why Peter was alive and why he made everyone think otherwise.

Andrea finally shook herself from her shocked state and looked around the group. He eyes finally falling on Peter. "Let's get out of the hallway. We can go to my office and talk."

Catherine shook her head. "I need to check on my mom and then I need to go home and talk to Jim."

"Are you sure you want to do that, Cath?" Nick asked.

"I think he deserves to know. Don't you, Nick?" Catherine asked and looked at Peter. "After all, Jim's the one who's been hurting the most and _blaming himself_, ever since Peter here _died_."

When Catherine said this, it through Lucy for a loop. "Peter? What the hell is she talking about? _They _thought you were dead too?"

Tears formed in Peter's eyes. He barely heard what Lucy had said. He was too busy thinking about Jim and he had no idea that Jim blamed himself for his so-called 'suicide'. If he knew that was going to be the case, he never would have done it. "I had no..."

"No! You didn't! Because all you thought about was yourself! When you decided to 'commit suicide' did you stop to think about what it would do everyone?"

"Suicide?" Lucy mumbled and shook her head. What the hell was going on here? She decided to wait and talk to Peter when they were alone.

Peter shook his head. "I thought I was helping." he said quietly.

"Helping!" Andrea yelled, finally getting her frustrations out. "Helping! How the hell did you think killing yourself was helping?"

Peter looked at Andrea. "I'm sorry, Andy. I thought if I made it seem like I was dead, then I could carry out my plan of taking the Sopranos out without getting you all involved again. It was working, until Sam..."

Catherine looked up at the sound of Sam's name. "Yeah, I need to know, what was Sam's part in all this?"

"I've known, I knew, Sam a long time. That night when Jim left me alone at his house I called Sam and we talked. _I _came up with this plan and he helped me carry it out. We had everything set up. The paramedics, the doctor, the cremation, the lawyer, everything."

"My God!" Lucy gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What else hadn't Peter told her?

When Peter heard Lucy, he turned toward her. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I should've explained everything to you before we got to Vegas."

Lucy stepped away from Peter. She was a little pissed at what she just heard that he had done and she needed to distance herself from him for a little while. Until she could comprehend why he did it.

Peter noticed that Lucy had back away from him and he was crushed. They had just reunited with each other and now things may be fucked up. He just hoped he would be able to fix them.

"Okay, I need to know how you two know each other." Nick said again.

Lucy turned and looked at her older brother. "We'll talk later. I promise."

Andrea noticed the protectiveness that her husband had for this woman that she hadn't even been introduced to yet. "Do you know her, honey?"

"Honey?" Peter asked curiously and with a smirk on his face.

Andrea glared at Peter. "You don't have the right to be cute right now, Peter."

Peter hung his head and stared down at the floor. He had a lot to make up for and the worst part about everything was, was that Jim still had no idea about any of this.

Nick looked at Andrea and nodded. "Yeah. Andrea, this is Lucy. My sister. Lucy, this is Andrea. My wife."

"Wife?" Lucy asked shocked. "You mean someone finally got you to commit?"

Nick smiled. "Yeah, well it didn't take much convincing."

Lucy smirked at the couple. She could tell by the way they looked at each other that they were in love. But the smirk left her face just as quickly when she looked back at Peter. She wondered if they would have their happy ending.

Catherine cleared her throat and looked at the group. "I'm going home. I need to talk to Jim." she said and looked at Andrea. "If my mom wakes up, tell her I'll be back later." Andrea nodded and Catherine walked off down the hall.

Once Catherine was out of sight, Andrea looked at Nick. "Let's go to my office. We can talk there."

"You know what, why don't you and Peter go. I need to talk to Lucy, okay?"

Andrea hesitated a second and then nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later."

* * *

Lucy was sitting at a table in the cafeteria and contemplating what had happened upstairs.

Just then her thoughts were interrupted by Nick placing a cup of coffee down in front of her. "Okay, Luce, we need to talk."

Lucy looked up at Nick and nodded. "I know, Nicky. I just don't know where to begin."

"How about starting with how you know Peter." Nick said and took a sip of his coffee.

This was going to be difficult. There was some things that Nick didn't know about, hell that no one knew about. But after all that's came out in the open tonight, she owed it to her brother to come clean and explain everything to him.

She sighed and looked back down at her cup. "I met him in Newark five years ago."

"Newark? What the hell were you doing out there?"

"I went to New York first and then made my way across the river when the rent became too much to deal with. I got a job at a place called Bada Bing."

Nick's brow furrowed. He heard about that club and knew what it was. "Lucy..."

Lucy held her hand up and stopped him. "Before you say anything, I was a waitress, not a stripper."

Nick let out a breath. "Well, that's somewhat of a relief."

"I met Peter there. We hit it off right away and started seeing each other." Lucy replied and noticed the scowl on her brother's face. "Don't give me that look, Nicky. I'm a big girl, I can date whomever I choose."

Nick shook his head. "I just don't understand what you see in him."

"He's a sweet guy. He treats me good, Nick." she replied.

"So, what happened? I met him a year ago and you weren't around then. So, I assume you broke up."

"Not really." Lucy replied. "Everything was going great between us, until..." She looked away from Nick.

"Until what?" Nick asked. "Did he hurt you?"

Lucy head snapped up. "No! He would never hurt me, not intentionally anyway. I thought he was dead."

"Shit! Don't tell me he pulled the same garbage on you?"

"No. At least I don't think so. Tony Soprano made me believe Peter was dead."

"You know Tony Soprano?"

"He has an office in the back of Bada Bing."

"Lucy..."

"I know."

"How do know Peter was behind that as well? Tony could have helped him..."

"No, I don't believe that. I can't. I mean Tony told Peter that I ran off with someone else."

"How do you know that?"

"Peter told me." Lucy said and noticed Nick's look. "I know what you're thinking and I don't think Peter was lying to me."

"But you don't know for sure."

Tears formed in Lucy's eyes. "No, but he wouldn't..."

Nick came around the table and wrapped his sister in a comforting hug. "I know. But maybe you didn't know, don't know, Peter as well as you thought you did. I mean you heard upstairs what he did. Who's to say he didn't do it before?"

"No, he wouldn't do that to me."

Nick shook his head, he wasn't so sure about that. "Did you call the police and have them look into it?"

Lucy wiped her eyes and pulled away from Nick. "No. I was too scared, thinking that Tony did something to him that I ran. I left Jersey and never went back." There was no need to tell Nick what Tony had done to her. She would get her revenge on the man himself soon enough.

"Well, knowing the Sopranos as well as I do now, I'd say that was the right decision."

"Maybe. But if I had of stayed around, I would have known Peter wasn't really dead." Lucy stated. Then she mumbled under her breath. "And things might have been a lot different."

"What?" Nick asked.

"Nothing."

"So, how did you and Peter reconnect?"

"I was coming out here to surprise you with a visit when I saw a truck on fire out on the highway. I pulled over to help and it turned out that it was Peter's truck. Which is another reason I don't think he lied to me about what happened five years ago. He was genuinely relieved to see me there. Shocked, but relieved."

"Okay, so maybe he didn't fake his death back then and Tony screwed you both over but I still don't trust him. Not after what he did."

"I understand that and I'm gonna talk to him about it believe me."

Nick smirked. He knew his sister had a temper and he was smart to enough to know to try and never be on the receiving end of it. "That's my girl." he replied. "I'm glad you're here. It's been too long."

"I know, Nicky, I know." Lucy said and hugged him.

* * *

Andrea was sitting behind her desk, staring at Peter who was sitting across from her on her office couch. She shook her and sighed. "I never thought you would do something like this."

"I had to, Andy. It was the only way."

"Bullshit, Peter! You should've came to us for help."

"Right. I think Jim, Nick and Catherine had enough of the Soprano crew. I don't think they would have jumped on board with me taking revenge."

"Okay, maybe not, but you didn't have to make us believe you were dead."

"It made things easier. If you all thought I was dead, you couldn't try to stop from carrying out my plans. And you wouldn't worry about me."

Andrea blinked. What Peter was saying actually made sense to her. But it didn't justify him deceiving his family.

"I understand that. I do. But you have no idea what you've put everyone through, especially Jimmy. He's been hurting ever since we found in that bathroom. Not to mention he's been blaming himself."

Peter looked down at his feet. "I don't know what to say, Andy."

"You don't have to say anything to me, Peter. But once Jim finds out, you're gonna have to make things right between you two again. And that's not gonna be easy."

Peter nodded. "I know, I know."

* * *

Nicole stirred in her sleep, when she felt an arm around her waist. At first she was alarmed but then she remembered a few hours before and smiled to herself.

She turned over onto her side and noticed Paulie looking back at her. "How long have you been awake?" she asked.

"A few minutes. I didn't want to disturb you." he replied.

"You didn't." she reassured him and then took a deep breath. "Paulie, I think we need to talk."

"We do? About what?"

"Everything that's happened." she stated. "It's just no matter how hard I try I just can't wrap my head around it."

Paulie shook his head. "I never should've let my guard down. I knew what Pete had down and that he was still out there. I should've been more alert."

"Paulie, it wasn't your fault. I mean, he fucking blew us up. I'm pretty sure you were unconscious when he grabbed you."

Paulie nodded. "Yeah and I spent the next three days of my life not knowing if you were okay or not."

"I know, I felt the same way."

"Although there was one time I thought I was a fucking goner." he confessed. "The fucking truck broke down and burst into fucking flames. Pete was gonna fucking leave me there in the truck to die."

Nicole sat up in bed and couldn't believe what she had just heard. "That fucking prick!" she yelled and then noticed movement from Tony's bed. She watched him for a minute but all he did was grunt and roll over. "I'm gonna kill that motherfucker!"

Paulie sat up beside her. "Sweetheart, don't worry about that cocksucker right now. He'll get what's coming to him."

"Damn right! And I'll be the one to do it." she replied and looked at Paulie. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tears fell from her eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's with the waterworks?" he asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I may act all tough, Paulie, but I was scared that'd I'd never see you again. I wouldn't be able to live without you."

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. I promise." he replied and smiled at her. "You're stuck with me, kiddo."

Nicole smiled back and gave him a small a kiss. "I love you, Paulie."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

* * *

Catherine walked in the front door, still shell shocked from what had happened at the hospital. Jim heard the door and walked out from the living room.

He noticed the look on Catherine's face and walked over to her. "Honey, is everything okay?"

Catherine looked up when she heard his voice. She looked into his blue eyes and knew that what she was about to tell him would absolutely devastate him. "Jim, we need to talk."

Jim didn't like the tone of her voice but followed her into the living room. "Is Sam going to be okay?" he asked.

Catherine shook her head. "No, he-he didn't make it."

Jim walked over to her and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Cath."

"I'll be okay, Jim. I need to talk to you about something else. Something that's going to completely change your life."

Catherine sat down the couch and Jim sat down beside her. "What it is Catherine?" he asked with a slightly nervous tone to his voice.

Catherine braced herself and figured the best way to go about telling him was to just come right out and say it. She took a deep breath and looked at Jim. "Jim..." she started and then hesitated. It was proving very difficult. "Jim, Peter's alive."

Jim blinked and shook his head. "No, no he can't be."

"He is, Jim. I saw him at the hospital."

"No, you're mistaken." Jim said and stood up. He walked over to the fireplace and picked up the urn that was sitting on the mantle. Then he turned back toward Catherine. "This is Peter. Right here in this urn."

Catherine stood up and walked over to him. "No, Jim, it's not. He was at the hospital. I talked to him. I don't who is in that urn, but it's not Peter."

Jim placed the urn back on the mantle and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Why? Where was he all this time?"

"I don't know, honey. Those are questions only he can answer."

"I have to see him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Jim felt the anger welling up inside of him. How could Peter still be alive? Why he put them through all the pain and heartache? These were questions Jim was determined to get to the bottom of and he needed to do that by talking to Peter.

* * *

Peter and Andrea were just coming out of her office as Nick and Lucy were making their way down the hall.

Peter saw Lucy and had a bad feeling. "Lucy..."

"Not here, Peter." she said. She wasn't pissed at Peter about what had happened five years ago, she was pissed at the fact of what he did recently. She couldn't understand why he would do something like that.

"Just let me explain." he pleaded.

"I said, not here."

"Then let's get a hotel room and talk."

Lucy looked at Nick and then back and Peter and sighed. "Fine."

Peter felt a little relieved. At least she was willing to talk to him and let him explain his motive behind doing what he did.

Nick looked at Andrea and then back to Lucy. "Luce, why don't you stay with us?"

Peter stared at Lucy hoping she wouldn't take Nick's offer. "Thanks, Nicky but Peter and I really do need to talk. Besides I have things I need to do anyway."

"You're sure? We've got the room." Andrea replied.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure."

As Lucy said this, a fist flew out of nowhere and connected with Peter's nose, sending him flying back. He landed on his back as blood poured out of his nose.

Lucy, Andrea and Nick turned around and looked right into the furious face of Jim Brass.

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Jimmy?" Andrea asked, shocked. Well, not really. She knew that Catherine was going home to tell Jim about Peter and was only a matter of time before had made an appearance.

Jim walked past Andrea and stood over Peter. "That's not even close to what you deserve." Jim said and held out his hand.

He helped Peter to his feet as Andrea handed him some paper towel. "I know, Jimmy. I'm sorry for putting you through this shit."

"Why? Why'd you do it?"

"I had to, Jim. It was the only way that I could take care of the Soprano crew."

Jim shook his head. "Funny. I thought you were scared shitless of them, Peter. And now all of a sudden you're taking them on single handedly?"

"Yeah, that's right." Nick chimed in. "You would practically shake at the mention of them. What changed?"

"I was never afraid of them, Nick." Peter said as he managed to control the bleeding somewhat. "It was all an act. I figured if you all thought I was afraid of them, you'd get the hell out of town."

Jim nodded his head. "Okay. So, once we were all back here, why'd you feel you still had to take care of them?"

"They don't quit, Jimmy. You fuck them over, they'll keep coming after you until they finish you off. I had to stop them to keep you all safe."

Jim couldn't believe it but his anger was dissipating quickly. Maybe it was due to the fact that Peter was standing there in front of him and he was actually alive. Although he couldn't fully forgive Peter yet for what he had done, he actually understood where he was coming from.

Jim sighed. "Are they here in town?" he asked. He was pretty sure he knew the answer but he just had to make sure.

"Yeah. Tony, Nicole and Paulie. Tony or Nicole, I don't know which one, but one of them killed Sam Braun."

"You were the one that brought Sam in." Jim said.

"Yeah, me and Lucy."

"Lucy?" Jim asked confused.

"That would be me." Lucy said and introduced herself. "I'm Lucy Stokes."

"Stokes, huh?"

"Yeah, Jim. She's my younger sister." Nick replied.

Jim shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. So, what are you doing with Peter? Don't tell me, you and he are..."

Lucy didn't know how to answer that because at the moment she was miffed at Peter. Although that didn't mean they still weren't together. Just a little on the outs at the moment.

Peter was watching Lucy and how she was going to respond to Jim's question. He prayed to God that he could make everything up to her. He couldn't lose her again.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, I guess you can say that." she replied and glanced at Peter.

"Hmm." Was all that Jim said. He turned toward Peter. "This isn't over, Pete. Not by a long shot. We still have a lot to discuss. I'll just say this, I am glad you're okay."

Andrea smirked at Jim. "Maybe now you can stop feeling so damn guilty, huh?"

"You know, Andy, I'm pretty pissed off that I wasted my time with all that. If I had of known, I wouldn't have bothered."

Peter hung his head. "I'm really sorry, Jim."

"Yeah I know you are, Peter. But right now I need to get home to Catherine and the baby."

"Baby?" Peter asked and raised his head to look at Jim.

Jim nodded. "We have a son. Alexander."

Peter hesitated for a moment and then looked at Jim. "Can I see him sometime?"

Jim stared at Peter. "Maybe. I mean I have to talk to Catherine about it first and believe me, you're not exactly her favorite person at the moment."

"Yeah, I know."

"Look, I'll see what I can do. But I really gotta head home. Oh, Andy, how's Lily doing?"

"I have her sedated so she can get some rest. She won't be awake until tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll let Cath know." Jim replied and walked off down the hall.

Nick looked at Peter. "Shit, you got off pretty easy there, Pete."

Andrea nodded. "Yeah, a little too easy."

* * *

Lucy went to the hotel that her and Peter had. She was pacing back and forth. She knew that she wanted her revenge more on Tony than Paulie. And if she could get both that would be great. And with Peter wanting to get the Soprano crew, she knew that she had to talk to him.

She grabbed a piece of paper and pen and decided to sit down and figure out a way to get Tony. She had a feeling that he was not about to leave, Las Vegas, yet, and that was going to work to her advantage. With a little help she could find a place to take, Tony, too.

Smiling she decided that she was going to go ahead and get, Tony, than tell Peter what she had done. In her own way that was some payback to Peter about what he had done.

* * *

Nicole rolled over and rested her head on Paulie's chest. It was comforting to hear his heart beat. It reassured her that he was okay. She took a deep breath and decided that she was not going to get up, until she felt like it. She slightly glanced up and Paulie was still asleep. She looked over and saw that Tony was gone. She frowned, where the heck could Tony have gone so early? Than she realized that it was nine o'clock in the morning.

Paulie moved his arm and put it around her. She smiled. It was nice that he was back and that everything hopefully would go back to normal. She closed her eyes, and drifted back to sleep. It had been a long week.

* * *

Tony was just making his way back to the hotel from picking up breakfast. He had one hell of a hangover and was not really in a good mood. He was just getting out of the rental car when he heard a car screeching up to him. He turned around to see a woman getting out of the car. He frowned and realized who it was. But before he knew it he was hit with a taser and knocked to the ground.

* * *

Peter went to the hotel that Lucy and him shared. When he walked in, he found that she wasn't there either. Frowning he did not understand why she was not there. "Where the hell did she go?" He asked walking over to the table hoping to see a note. Nada.

Just as he turned around he heard the door open and Lucy walked in, smiling. "I have to show you something." She said and walked up to him. "We need to take a trip."

Peter frowned. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing, just come with me." She said and grabbed his arm.

* * *

Nicole and Paulie were awoken by a cell phone ringing. Nicole rolled over to look at the end table and it happened to be her cell phone. "Yeah." She said answering the phone.

"Heard something I think you should know." Angelo Costa, the pit boss at the Luxor, said.

Nicole was shocked to hear his voice. "Costa?"

"Yeah, like I said, there is something you should know that, I just heard."

"What?" She asked frowning.

Paulie sat up, looking at her wondering what was going on.

"Tony Soprano."

"What about him?"

"I just heard that he got kidnapped by a couple who are associated with Sam Braun."

"Peter, and that twat."

"Yeah."

"Thanks, you know where?"

"I'll try and find out for you."

"Thanks." Nicole said and hung up the phone.

Paulie looked at her. "What was that about?"

"Angelo Costa, a contact that we have out here, just informed me that T. has been taken, by our lovely motherfuckers out here."

"What?" Paulie asked getting out of bed. "Where?"

"I don't know yet, he's going to get back to us about it." Nicole said pulling out some clothes. She had packed some clothes for Paulie as well. She handed his clothes to him and than just pulled hers out and got dressed.

* * *

Tony was groggy when he woke up and found himself bound and gagged in a trunk. He tried to get his hands free and his feet but no prevail. He could hear the sound of the pavement, and the sound of the motor. He could not believe that it was his turn to be kidnapped. Who was behind this one? Peter? Lucy? Those were the only two that he could think of out here.

* * *

A muffled sound came from the trunk. Peter looked over at Lucy. "You didn't."

"Didn't what, honey?" She asked with a smirk.

Peter shook his head. "You kidnapped Tony Soprano."

"Little me?"

"Little you." He answered.

Lucy smiled. "Of course. It was his time to get it."

"We should have talked about this, instead of you jumping the gun."

"Call it payback, sweetie."

"Payback? Payback for what?"

"For that stupid fucking stunt you pulled."

"Oh, you mean...?" Peter knew she was pissed off at him over making his family believe he was dead.

"Yeah, and the sad thing is, I know exactly how they feel."

"Now wait a minute, Lucy, I did not do the same thing to you. I had no idea what kind of bullshit Tony fed you until you told me three days ago."

Lucy glanced at Peter. "I know that, Peter. I wasn't insinuating that you did." she replied, but thought back to conversation with Nick. She shook the thoughts away.

"Well, that's what it sure as hell sounded like." Peter snapped.

"Don't snap at me, mister." Lucy glared at him. "Look, if I thought for one minute that you faked your own death to skip out on me, you'd be the one tied up in the trunk. Not Tony Soprano."

Peter squirmed in his seat a little. "I have no doubt about that." he mumbled.

* * *

Tony was trying to adjust his eyesight to the darkness in the trunk but it was proving very difficult in the small space.

He twisted his arms again but the bindings were too tight and wouldn't loosen even the slightest.

He stopped moving and rested his head against the bottom of the trunk and wondered just how he was going to get himself out of this mess.

* * *

Nicole and Paulie were having coffee at the local coffee. Paulie looked across the table at Nicole. "You think Pete has T.?" he asked.

"I don't know but I mean who else could have grabbed him."

"Yeah, Ton's not exactly a small man, it would take a lot of strength to bring him down."

"Not to mention his temper. If he wasn't ambushed, then chances are he fought back. Hard."

"Nah, I don't think he had a chance to fight back. Cause if he did, we wouldn't be worried about where he is and who has him."

Nicole nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Hey maybe we should call Chrissy. Have him come out and help us."

"No. He's nursing a shattered shoulder, some broken ribs and a concussion right now. He'd be no use to us."

"Shit! What the hell happened to the kid?"

"Three guesses and the first two don't count."

"Peter." Paulie replied flatly.

"Yeah. He blew up the building where he was holding me and Chrissy got caught in it. Thing is, I actually not looking forward to seeing him."

"Why not? I thought you and Chrissy were pretty close."

"We are, well were, I'm not sure anymore. After the explosion I checked him out and couldn't find a pulse. I thought he was dead so I got the fuck out of there."

"That's when you met us at Satriales."

"Yeah and now everything's fucking out of control."

Paulie reached across the table and took her hand. "Nic, everything spun out of control when we met these fuckers last year."

Nicole nodded and squeezed Paulie's hand. She was glad he was there with her and safe.

* * *

Lucy pulled the rental car into a parking lot and pulled to a stop next to a boarded up building. She cut the engine and jumped out of the car.

Peter followed. "How the fuck did you know about this place?"

"I drove around for a while looking for the perfect place. Then as I was driving back to the hotel I actually couldn't believe my luck when I saw Tony walking down the street. I figured if I didn't grab him right then, I'd lose my chance."

"How the hell did you grab him by yourself. He's huge."

They were standing by the trunk now and Lucy pulled something out of her pocket. "With the help of this baby." she smirked.

Peter smiled. "A taser."

"Yeah. Now let's get him inside." she replied and opened the trunk.

Tony looked up and squinted as the bright sunlight filled the dark trunk. "Mphgmgmph."

Lucy shook her head. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Paulie: I don't speak 'garbled', so shut the fuck up!"

They each grabbed one of Tony's arms and pulled him out of the trunk. Since his feet were bound, they had no choice but to carry him.

"You grab his arms and I'll take his legs." Lucy suggested.

Peter grabbed Tony around his upper body as Lucy picked up his legs. "Ready?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

They started to move and Peter strained under the weight. "Jesus." he panted. "Fuck, Tony, you weigh a ton, man. Shit, Lucy stop for a second."

Lucy stopped and they placed Tony down on the ground. "You okay, Peter?"

"Yeah, just need a breather. You should have gotten a dolly. You know that thing they use to cart Hannibal Lecter around."

Lucy laughed and shook her head in amusement. No wonder she could never stay mad at Peter for very long. "Come on, let's go"

* * *

Nicole had just taken a sip out of her second cup of coffee when her cell phone rang. "Yeah?" she answered.

"It's Costa. I just got word from one of my guys that they seen a car parked at one of the abandoned buildings down near Fremont street."

"Shit, you think that could be where Tony is?" Nicole asked.

"I don't know, but I think it might be worth checking out."

"Thanks." she said and hung up.

"You got a line on Tony?" Paulie asked.

"Maybe. He said someone saw a car outside and abandoned down on Fremont street."

"Okay, let's check it out."

* * *

Lucy and Peter finally got Tony into the building and sat him down on a crate. Lucy looked around the building and noticed a bay door just across the room. Just what she needed if her plan was going to work.

She walked over and tried to pull it up. No luck. "Hey, Peter give me a hand with this."

Peter walked over. "Are you crazy? You can't open that door. Someone will know we're in here."

"I just want to open it so I can pull the car in here. That way if a cop car drives by he won't get suspicious about why a car is parked outside an abandoned building."

"Oh. Okay, that's a good idea."

Together they managed to open the door high enough to fit the car through. Lucy went outside, started the car and drove it right into the building. After she was in, Peter slammed the door shut.

* * *

Paulie and Nicole were driving down Fremont street and noticed quite a few abandoned buildings. None of which had a car parked near them.

"Where the fuck is the car?" Paulie asked.

"Costa said one of his guys saw a car parked outside one of the abandoned buildings." Nicole replied.

"Well, obviously he was fucking seeing things because we've driven by every fucking building here and there are no fucking cars."

"They could have moved it."

"Okay, so then which one is it?"

"We'll just have to check them all."

"Great. Five fucking buildings. None of which look small by the way. It'll take us for fucking ever to check them all."

"Well, what choice do we have, Paulie? We have to find Tony."

Paulie sighed. "Yeah, I know. Fuck it, let's get started."

* * *

Peter glanced at Tony and then pulled Lucy over to the side. "Okay, what exactly do you have planned?"

"Revenge." Lucy replied simply.

"I get that much. But what does that revenge entail?"

"Five years ago, Tonymade me believe you were dead. And because of that, I was stressed out that I lost our baby. So, I lost not one but two people I loved very much. And now I'm gonna do the same to Tony."

"I don't understand."

"Peter, I've been waiting five years for this moment. I just never thought you'd be here with me. Anyway, I've done my research on Tony over the years. You know he let a woman become part of his crew?"

"Yeah, Nicole." Peter replied.

"Right. So, then you must also know that she's his cousin and that he considers her more of a sister than his actual sisters."

Peter nodded. "Where are you going with all this?"

"Simple. Nicole's in town with Tony and when she comes looking for him, I'm going to kill her."

* * *

Nicole pulled the car into the parking lot of the first building and she Paulie got out.

"Okay, where do we start?" Paulie asked.

"Uh, inside the fucking building would be a good place." Nicole replied sarcastically.

"Hey, don't get fucking cunty with me."

"I wasn't getting cunty, Paulie. Just stating the obvious." Nicole said and walked toward the building.

As they approached the door, Paulie peered in through the dirty glass. "I can't see a fucking thing."

"Let's go in." Nicole said and tried to open the door. It didn't budge.

"Hang on." Paulie said and ran back to the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out the tire iron that was under the spare tire. He went back to door. "Let's try this."

He managed to get the tire iron between the door and frame and pried it open.

They stepped inside and looked around the dirty and dusty building. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long fucking time." Paulie observed.

"I guess this isn't the place. Let's move on to the next one."

* * *

Peter stared at Lucy. "Are you fucking out of your mind?"

"No. I've had this planned for a long time, Pete. I finally have my chance and I'm not passing it up."

Before Peter had a chance to respond, Lucy was walking back toward Tony. When she reached him she looked down into his eyes. Then suddenly she slapped him across the face. "You've fucked up my life enough and now it's my turn to get even."

"Mpnhghghdp, mpehehddfd!" he yelled through the gag.

"What did I fucking tell you? I don't speak 'garbled'. You gotta start paying attention, Tony." she replied and decided to remove the gag.

"You fucking bitch!" Tony spat, once the gag was out.

"Careful there, Tony. You're in no position to be name calling."

"You're gonna fucking get what's coming to you. I should have fucking wasted you a long time ago."

Lucy pulled out the gun that had been snugly tucked in the back of her pants and held it under Tony's chin. "You wanna repeat that, Tony?" she asked as she cocked the gun. Tony didn't reply. "I didn't think so. I've gone through hell because of you and now you're gonna pay for the last five years."

"If you're gonna shoot me, then fucking do it."

Lucy smiled and uncocked her gun. "I don't wanna shoot you, Tony. That would be too easy. I want you to suffer like I did. And when I carry out my plan, you're gonna know what real pain and suffering is."

* * *

Nicole and Paulie checked out the next two buildings but came up empty. "Shit! We're never gonna fucking find him." Paulie stated, frustrated.

"Don't quit on me, baby. We still got two buildings left to check out."

They pulled up outside the fourth building and exited the car. They walked over to the side of the building and peered in through the window.

"Holy shit, there he is." Paulie pointed out.

"Okay, we found him. Now we just gotta figure out to get him out of there." Nicole replied and walked back to the car.

"You got a plan, sweetheart?"

Nicole shook her head. "Not really." she replied and opened the trunk of the car. She lifted up the carpet and pulled out a Glock. She checked the cartridge and then placed it in the waist band of her jeans.

"What the hell are you going to do? Just go in there with guns blazing?"

"No, I learned my lesson at the farmhouse. I wasn't thinking and you could have gotten hurt. I can't risk that again."

Paulie looked around the deserted parking lot. "We better make this quick. All we need is a cop car driving by and seeing anything out of the ordinary."

Nicole nodded and walked toward the building.

* * *

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tony asked.

Lucy was about to answer when they heard the door open on the other side of the building. Lucy looked toward the door and saw Nicole and Paulie walk through.

Lucy looked at Peter and smiled. "Looks like they found us."

Peter stepped up to Lucy side and whispered into her ear. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry." she replied and turned toward Nicole and Paulie. "Glad you could join us. I was starting to worry you wouldn't find the place."

"Kinda hard when we didn't have a fucking clue to where you were." Nicole snapped.

"Just hand Tony over and we can all get the fuck out of here." Paulie said.

Lucy snorted. "Yeah, like I'm just gonna hand him over to you. I wasn't born yesterday."

Nicole walked toward Lucy at a steady pace. "You fucking bitch! You better let him go!"

Lucy, who was still holding her gun, raised it and pointed it at Nicole. "I would stop right there if I was you."

Nicole stopped in her tracks but placed her hand on the gun in the back of her pants.

"Keep your hands where I can see them." Lucy ordered.

"I don't think so." Nicole said. She pulled the gun out of her waist band and fired at Lucy.

Before Lucy had a chance to react the bullet slammed into her right leg and dropping her to the ground.

"Lucy!" Peter screamed and dropped down beside her. He pulled his button up shirt off and ripped it, tying a piece around the gunshot wound in her leg.

Just as he looked up, he noticed Nicole and Paulie heading toward them. He pulled his gun from his shoulder holster and started firing at them. "You lousy fuckers."

As he heard the clicking in his gun, signifying that he was out of ammo, he grabbed Lucy and put her over his shoulder. "Come on, baby, let's get you out of here."

Peter made his way to a back door in the building as a bullet whizzed by him and slammed into the wall ahead of him. "Shit!"

Nicole fired again but it was too late. They were out the door. She turned back to Paulie and helped him untie Tony. They took him outside and put him in the car."

* * *

In the back of the abandoned building, Peter made his way into a nearby field. He placed Lucy down and checked her leg.

"Lucy? Lucy, can you hear me?"

"Where... are they?" she asked in a ragged breath.

"In the building, sweetheart. I had to get you out of there."

Lucy reached into her pocket and pulled out a key chain. She handed it to Peter. "Use this."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"We need... to... finish the job. Use this."

Peter clued in to what she wanted him to do. He took the key chain from her and looked back at the building. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Please. Please, do it... for me."

Peter looked down at her pale face and couldn't deny her wish. He again looked back at the building.

* * *

Once Tony was placed in the car, Paulie noticed Nicole running back to the building. "Nicole, where the fuck are you going?"

"They went out the back way, Paulie. I gotta stop them." she called back over her, just as she disappeared inside the building.

As Paulie was about to follow her, there was a huge bang and the building exploded into a giant fireball.

**THE END.**

**TBC in the third installment... Heaven Can Wait.**


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